FECER (Fédération Européenne des Cadres de l’Énergie et de la Recherche) held its annual general meeting in Madrid at the invitation of the Spanish trade union CCP – Confederación de Cuadros y Profesionales. Spanish energy policy and last spring’s blackout in Spain and Portugal were the main topics of discussion.
Twenty years ago, FECER warned against the European trend towards drastically reducing controllable means of production, given the risks to the stability of electricity systems. It is in this context that the FECER members present welcomed Belgium’s decision to pave the way for the revival of nuclear power, as is also the case in other European countries, such as Italy and Sweden.
The day after the General Meeting, a delegation from FECER visited the Trillo nuclear power plant, located in the hills above the Tagus River in the province of Guadalajara. For Anne LASZLO, President of FECER and former CFE Énergies union representative at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant, this visit and the discussions with representatives of the plant’s management and unions were emotionally charged: “The anxiety of our Spanish colleagues faced with the possible political closure of their nuclear power plants took me back to the atmosphere at Fessenheim before the election-driven decision to close. In Spain, too, the ’stop and go » nature of energy policies is wearing down employee morale, encouraging a brain drain and discouraging too many young talents from joining our industry. This is all the more unfortunate given that many young people would like to combine a healthy life in the countryside with an exciting and rewarding technical career. Nuclear power plants are generally built in green settings. This is the case in Trillo. It was the case in Fessenheim. Let’s hope that Spain will not destroy its nuclear industry!«
CCP officials are working intensively with the companies that own the nuclear power plants, as well as with government officials, to ensure the continued operation of nuclear power plants in Spain. An industry that enjoys the majority support of citizens, has highly qualified employment and the highest safety standards, meeting the goal of zero accidents, year after year.
FECER provides decision-makers with technical, realistic and pragmatic insights to help them build the European energy mix. In 2024, this assembly of energy professionals held its General Assembly in Alsace and visited EDF’s Kembs hydroelectric power plant. In 2026, a gas technical facility is expected to complement the GA.