British News Agency

However, this comes as the EU is seeking to ban all energy imports from Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the proposal has raised concerns about the risk of espionage and other security threats at both regional and federal levels.

German authorities are expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to approve the plans.

The facility will be operated by Framatome, a subsidiary of French state-owned energy company EDF, using Russian components supplied by TVEL, part of Russia’s nuclear giant Rosatom. TVEL will not be directly involved in operating the facility but will supply the Russian-made components required for nuclear fuel production.

Russian-designed fuel is currently used in 19 Soviet-era nuclear reactors spread across five EU countries in Eastern and Northern Europe, as well as in 15 additional reactors in Ukraine.

Framatome is heavily lobbying German authorities to approve the project, mobilizing the support of the French government up to President Emmanuel Macron.

Framatome argues that what is good for business is also good for Europe.

However, saying “yes” is politically difficult for Germany. Officials in Berlin are concerned about security risks and Russian espionage, with some warning against allowing a Russian company to gain a foothold in a country that is almost at war with the Putin regime and still affected by its past dependence on Russian energy.