Lawmakers Call for Clear Rules and Investment
MEPs from the European People’s Party are urging the EU to treat nuclear fusion as more than just a research project. In a declaration released Tuesday, they called on the European Commission to establish a clear and predictable regulatory framework to attract private investment, noting that the costs of developing fusion energy will be enormous.
“Fusion has reached a turning point,” the declaration reads. “European industrial capability and private investments are converging toward deployment. What is now required is clear political backing and effective mechanisms to attract private capital.” Lawmakers stressed that fusion could strengthen Europe’s energy security while boosting the bloc’s competitiveness in the global market.
Turning Scientific Promise into Industrial Power
During a public hearing in the European Parliament, MEPs highlighted fusion energy as a unique opportunity. Bulgarian MEP Tsvetelina Penkova said Europe should move past viewing fusion as purely research. German lawmaker Hildegard Bentele called it a chance to turn scientific leadership into industrial power, while Belgium’s Pascal Arimont described fusion as a path to clean, safe, and reliable energy for the continent.
The declaration asks the Commission to allow EU countries flexibility in setting safety and licensing rules for fusion power plants, and to clarify that fusion should be regulated separately from nuclear fission.
Why Fusion Matters
Fusion is the same process that powers the sun, producing energy when small atomic nuclei combine. Unlike nuclear fission, which splits atoms and creates radioactive waste, fusion is cleaner and safer, though it is still under development and not yet used for electricity generation.
Momentum is building in Europe. In 2023, Germany signed a €7 billion deal with RWE to build a pilot fusion plant by 2035. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has promised to create a regulatory framework for fusion in Germany and across Europe, criticizing previous decisions to close the country’s nuclear plants. With major breakthroughs already achieved in the US, European lawmakers see this as the moment to turn scientific promise into practical energy solutions.
