BIA is among the founding members
BIA’s President Dobri Mitrev and his deputy Mariya Mincheva participated in the Paris Nuclear Business Alliance Summit, which took place on 11 and 12 February in the French capital. The forum was organized by MEDEF - the French member of BusinessEurope, whose initiative is the creation of the European Business Nuclear Alliance.
The forum was attended by key ministers and responsible representatives of institutions and business organizations, including Patrick Martin - President of MEDEF, Fatih Birol - Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Yves Desbazeille - Director General of NuclearEurope, Markus Bayrer - Director General of BusinessEurope, among others.
Made up of 14 federations representing 19 nationalities, the European Business Nuclear Alliance aims to mobilise economic players to defend the place of nuclear energy in the European Union and to make Europe a decarbonised, competitive and sovereign economic power. The aim of the initiative is to make nuclear energy a key element of the forthcoming Clean Industrial Pact as well as the Commission's work programme. The French Minister of Industry, Marc Ferracci, has made a statement in this direction.
"After coal, oil and gas, the world is entering an era of electrification that will drive economies. Electricity needs will grow exponentially, especially with the development of artificial intelligence. A medium-sized data centre consumes as much energy as 100,000 households." The data was presented by Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Later this year, the agency will set up an observatory to monitor and predict energy needs for data centres worldwide. By 2030, small nuclear reactors are expected to be commercialized and make deep inroads as a power source. The event was held in the immediate aftermath of the AI Action Summit, 2025, where Mr Birol was part of the closing high-level panel.
On the sidelines of the Paris Forum, the 14 federations that make up the European Business Nuclear Alliance issued a joint statement. BIA’s President Dobri Mitrev signed the document. The signatory organisations declare their common commitment to strengthening the European nuclear industry as it contributes to Europe's decarbonisation and competitiveness and sustainability goals, alongside renewable and low-carbon solutions. Alliance members have identified four priority areas, in line with the development of the Clean Industry Pact and in anticipation of the next steps to achieve Europe's economic and climate goals:
- Provide a clear and enabling institutional framework, remove barriers and fully implement technology neutrality;
- Secure access to private and public funding;
- Accelerate the industrialisation of the sector and promote a stable nuclear ecosystem in Europe;
- Support skills development and renewal.
The forum provided an opportunity for exchange of views and numerous individual exchanges between the leaders of European employers' organisations.
PHOTOS from the forum
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Declaration of intent from European Business federations
A European Business Nuclear Alliance
The organisations signing this declaration, comprising European business federations, today announce their shared commitment to strengthening the European nuclear industry, as it contributes to Europe's decarbonisation, competitiveness, and resilience objectives alongside renewable and low-carbon solutions.
Businesses are fully aligned: a competitive industry and the resilience of our socio-economic model demand a joint approach for decarbonisation, growth, and competitiveness. With the global race to develop clean technologies intensifying, Europe must deepen and expand its investments in strategic value chains to cement its position as a climate leader and defend its economic potential. A diverse set of solutions and technologies are needed in the face of intensifying decarbonization demands and competitiveness pressures.
Nuclear energy is one of these critical levers, complementing renewable energy and other clean solutions and ensuring businesses have access to a competitive, stable, and predictable supply of decarbonised energy. Scaling up investment, driving innovation in advanced technologies and strengthening the circular economy offer a strategic opportunity to consolidate the nuclear value chain alongside other key clean industrial sectors, fostering competitiveness and resilience at the European level.
In this context, this Alliance aims to organise the support of the economic sector to strengthen the nuclear industry and amplify its dynamism in innovation, skills development, and industrialisation. We aim to leverage action at the European level, working closely with the European Commission, the Nuclear Alliance of Member States, nucleareurope, the European industrial alliance on SMRs and other stakeholders to take necessary decisions, address existing barriers and allow the nuclear industry to fully contribute to shared challenges, all within a technology-neutral vision for the decarbonized energy transition. We welcome the new momentum for nuclear energy that is emerging at European level, including the recognition of the role of nuclear energy at EU level in the Net Zero Industry Act, 2040 Climate objective Communication, as well as the launch of the SMR Industrial Alliance. It is time for Europe to build on these breakthroughs and go further.
To this end, we have identified 4 focus areas, in alignment with the development of the Clean Industrial Deal and in anticipation of the next milestones for meeting European economic and climate objectives. As a result, we call European institutions and Member States to:
- Provide a clear and enabling institutional framework, removing barriers and fully apply technological neutrality, in line with the commitments of EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. A level playing field between solutions is vital for an efficient and competitive European decarbonization. The EU framework should better enable Member States' freedom to determine and decarbonize their energy mix, allowing them to achieve climate goals in the most cost-effective and sustainable way. As a first step, a ‘technology neutrality-check’ could be considered for upcoming legislation and planned revisions to identify potential barriers and ensure a level playing field for all renewable and low-carbon energy sources.
- Secure access to both private and public funding, by further developing long-term contracts, and ensuring nuclear and derivative low-carbon solutions can fully access European financing and guarantee programmes in application of technology neutrality (State Aid guidelines, IPCEIs, European Investment Bank, Innovation Fund, European Hydrogen Bank, support to electrification based on excellence of projects, etc.).
- Accelerate the industrialisation of the sector and foster a robust nuclear system in Europe, by enhancing international collaboration on innovation, strengthening the industrial base, securing the fuel supply chain and leveraging the scale and integration of the European market.
- Support the development and renewal of skills, by recruiting and training the next generation of workers across the entire associated value chain and fostering European professional mobility.
Europe must leverage all solutions to ensure a climate transition that is competitive and socially inclusive and to foster resilience and growth. Time is running out as Europe faces one of its most severe economic downturns in decades, while China and the US are more determined than ever to defend their interests. Nuclear energy cannot remain on the sidelines of European strategies. On the path to a decarbonised economy and energy system, all technologies that result in the reduction of emissions must be deployed. It is now urgent to set up the framework and the concrete actions for a transition that fully exploits the complementarity between nuclear, renewable energies and other low-carbon technologies.
