# Plain Language Summary: The U.S.-European Nuclear Energy Cooperation Act of 2024

This bill is about the U.S. government working with European countries to build up their nuclear power industry while reducing their dependence on Russia. The core issue is that Russia has significant control over Europe's nuclear energy sector—it owns about 20 percent of the world's uranium conversion facilities and nearly half of all uranium enrichment capacity. Russia also designs many of the nuclear reactors operating across Europe. The bill recognizes that this dependence on Russian nuclear technology is a security problem, especially since Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown how it weaponizes energy supplies. The bill wants to shift Europe toward getting nuclear technology and fuel from the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and other allied countries instead.

To make this happen, the bill requires the U.S. State Department to create a detailed strategy within four months. This strategy needs to map out how different types of nuclear reactors and fuel sources could help Europe break free from Russian influence by specific target years (2030, 2035, 2040, and beyond). It also needs to identify which European countries have nuclear programs, what deals they currently have with Russia and China, and where the U.S. could step in to offer better alternatives. The strategy must also address how to counter Russian disinformation about nuclear energy and help European countries build the capacity to develop their own nuclear programs safely and securely.

The bill backs this up with $30 million per year for five years to actually implement the strategy. This money would go toward helping European countries develop nuclear projects from the ground up, training and capacity building, and countering Russian propaganda about nuclear energy. The goal is to make American and allied nuclear technology more competitive and accessible so that when European countries need nuclear power, they naturally turn to the West rather than Russia.