Commissioner Simson attends World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris

EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson gave a keynote speech this morning at the opening ceremony of the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris. Other speakers included the head of the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, the International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol, and a video message from EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton.

Speaking at the opening session, Commissioner Simson said: “The European Union is neutral towards the different energy technologies. But this means being attentive to the contribution that each of them can bring towards achieving our overarching goal, a decarbonised, fully integrated and more secure energy system by 2050. And this includes nuclear.”

With more than 600 exhibitors and a whole series of policy seminars, the three-day event is one of the most important events for the nuclear sector worldwide. This year the three major topics of the exhibition are hydrogen, radioactive waste management and Small Modular Reactors (SMR).  

The European Commission will host a stand at this year’s WNE, highlighting the work done by different Commission services, in terms of nuclear safety, inspections, international cooperation, research and innovation, as well as the ITER Organisation (IO) and Fusion for Energy (F4E).

Commissioner Simson is also using the opportunity of her trip to Paris to meet French government Ministers ahead of France’s Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2022.

Related links

• Speech by Commissioner Simson at the World Nuclear Exhibition
• World Nuclear Exhibition
• Commission work related to nuclear energy