Contrary to expectations, there is initially no green light from the EU countries for a central climate protection law. The vote planned for Wednesday at ambassadorial level on the so-called Renewable Energy Directive has been taken off the agenda, said a spokesman for the responsible Swedish Council Presidency. Several EU diplomats told the German Press Agency that, among other things, France had not agreed to the planned law for tactical reasons.

At the end of March, negotiators from the European Parliament and EU countries agreed on a compromise for more energy from renewable sources. In 2030, 42.5 percent of the energy consumed in the EU must come from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydropower.

The agreement at the end of March also defined targets for specific areas such as industry, transport and buildings. Above all, the industrial requirements had long been wrestled between the supporters and opponents of nuclear power. France, among others, is committed to this technology, while it is viewed critically by states such as Germany and Austria.

The compromise stipulates that 2030 percent of hydrogen used by industry must come from renewable sources by 42 and 2035 percent by 60. However, countries that consume a particularly low proportion of hydrogen from fossil fuels such as oil and gas and meet renewable expansion targets can replace 20 percent of their share of renewable hydrogen with hydrogen from other energy sources, including nuclear energy.

An EU diplomat told dpa that France now wants technical adjustments to the project to ensure that nuclear power is not discriminated against and that it is ensured that it can be used for the production of industrial hydrogen. France does not question the Renewable Energy Directive per se.

The blockade of the new rules, which have already been negotiated, reminds many other EU diplomats of the approach of Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) to the EU ban on internal combustion engines. "It's the Wissing move again," an EU diplomat told dpa. He was alluding to the German government's demands for an agreement between negotiators from the European Parliament and the EU member states. The background to this was the decision that from 2035 onwards only new cars may be sold in the EU that do not emit greenhouse gases during operation. Actually, the adoption of laws after compromise has been reached by negotiators is considered a formality.