European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes a statement on the death of European Parliament President David Sassoli, at EU headquarters in Brussels, on January 11, 2022. Sassoli died early on the day at a hospital in Italy, his spokesman said on Twitter. Photo: AFP

Spain and Denmark reiterated Monday their opposition to plans by the European Union to label gas and nuclear energy projects as green investments, an issue that has divided the bloc.

The two nations believe such a move would send "the wrong message to investors and society as a whole," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told a joint news conference in Madrid with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen.

The European Commission drafted plans in late 2021 to label gas and nuclear energy as green investments, a move it hopes will steer huge sums of private capital into activities that support EU climate goals.

But Austria and Luxembourg have along with Spain and Denmark opposed the EU's draft plans for a so-called "sustainable finance taxonomy."

Heavyweight Germany opposes labeling nuclear power as sustainable, but not gas.

Sanchez and Frederiksen believe decisions about the new rulebook should have a "strictly scientific basis," a "position shared by Austria and Luxembourg," the Spanish government said in a statement after the two leaders met.

EU member states are awaiting the commission's final proposal, which it has said it will publish soon, without giving a date.

AFP