Deputy Prime Minister and OPEC+ envoy Alexander Novak drove home the official line that sanctions make Russia stronger when he said in October, referring to the redirection of exports, "the main consumption of energy resources will in future be in [the Asia-Pacific] region... We would have to do this anyway. We just sped up a bit."

According to the French Economy Ministry: "This cooperation will concern, among other things, the nuclear construction programmes envisaged in the two countries, the analysis of new technologies such as small modular reactors or advanced technology reactors, the development of a European supply chain, the fuel cycle, nuclear power and the strengthening of nuclear training courses within the two countries."

SEFE’s trading of Russian LNG is controversial in Berlin, where lawmakers have urged the company to sever its links with Moscow. Germany opposes LNG imports from Russia, though it hasn’t banned them.

The government on Wednesday slashed its growth forecast for this year to 0.2% from 1.3%, after a contraction in 2023.

Europe risks losing out to China and the US in the race to supply the technologies needed to roll out renewables and slash industrial emissions.

“The European Commission’s carbon capture ambition is significant at ~450 million tonnes of CO2 by 2050, of which around 40% will come from direct air capture (DAC) alone, the most expensive carbon capture process.

While the outlook is weak, the bank said it expects no major deterioration in the labour market, which has insulated the economy so far, and Germany was not facing a broad-based, prolonged recession.

The UK’s nuclear sector has launched its first sector-wide initiative to attract and recruit people over the next two decades into the civil and defence nuclear workforce.

A key focus of the partnership will be on hydrogen isotope management within the fusion fuel cycle, safely removing, processing, and reinjecting fuel to the plasma in a continuous manner.

The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions aims to provide expertise and experience to governments and companies around the world by assisting with the formulation of sanctions proposals that will increase the cost to Russia of invading Ukraine

The European Commission on Thursday said Germany will be the biggest drag on euro zone growth this year and next, with growth of only 0.3% in 2024 rather than 0.8% expected in November and 1.2% in 2025, after a 0.3% recession last year.

The aid provided by seven countries is expected to unlock an additional 5.4 billion euros in private investments, with 32 companies participating in 33 projects, the commission said.

In a statement, Rosneft’s law firm Malmendier Legal said such an expropriation would be “unprecedented in Germany’s post-war history” and that the Kremlin-controlled company would take “all necessary measures” to protect the rights of its shareholders.

The European Commission set up a European SMR pre-Partnership in June last year with the overall objective of identifying enabling conditions and constraints,

Russia is interested in “how scrupulously” German authorities will approach the investigation given Germany “has lost a lot due to this terrorist attack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, when asked about Sweden’s decision, according to Interfax.