Britain, the Czech Republic, France and Poland are calling for nuclear power to receive similar subsidies from the EU as wind and solar energy, a German newspaper said Friday.

The four countries' governments have sent letters outlining their request to Brussels ahead of a meeting by European Union economy and energy ministers next week, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung said.

Despite Germany's decision to phase out nuclear energy by 2022, the four EU countries want nuclear power stations to be classed in the future as emission-free technology, like wind and solar power, it said.

"If the four countries are successful, in the medium term both the building of nuclear power stations as well as the selling of electricity generated by nuclear power could be supported, in a similar way to renewable energies," the paper said.

Following last year's Fukushima disaster, Europe's leading economy decided to immediately shut down its eight oldest nuclear reactors and to take nine others out of service by the end of 2022.