Blair urges EU to consider more atomic power

Nuclear power should be a priority area for EU energy policy, British prime minister Tony Blair told MEPs on Wednesday. Mr Blair said Europe needed to have a common stance on the development of atomic energy. This is an area "into which we need to be putting future work", he said.

Several MEPs regretted the absence of any reference to renewable energy in Mr Blair’s speech, the second since the beginning of the UK’s presidency of the EU. Speaking for the Greens/EFA, Monica Frassoni said that Mr Blair "had once again shown off his performance skills", and that she wanted to know what he "had in mind for energy policy other than nuclear power".