Why nuclear energy is making a comeback across Europe
Several countries across Europe are pivoting or have made U-turns over the use of nuclear power, as governments seek greater energy security.
Belgium was in the spotlight earlier this month when its parliament voted to repeal a 2003 law that stipulated the gradual phaseout of nuclear energy.
The motion it adopted on 15 May allows for the possibility of reviving the country's atomic industry in the future, including building new power stations.
Belgium's original plan to phase out its seven nuclear reactors by 2025 was pushed back by a decade in 2022 due to energy uncertainty caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The current conservative-led coalition government, led by Prime Minister Bart De Wever, came into power in February, and decided that the shift was necessary to meet its energy challenges.
"We know that it's a low-carbon energy source, which means we can meet our European climate targets, but it's also an abundant energy source," said Belgium's Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet.
"We have three objectives that are shared by our European partners. They are security of supply, a controlled price and low-carbon energy. And nuclear power meets all three criteria," he added.
Belgium is far from alone — other EU member states such as Germany, Denmark, and Italy are reconsidering their stances on nuclear power.
"I think it's obviously due to the current situation, with enormous geopolitical uncertainty and dependence on gas, which is still very strong," said Adel El Gammal, professor of energy geopolitics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
"So, quite naturally, anything we can do to make ourselves more independent of gas, we have to do. Nuclear power is one way," El Gammal, who is also secretary general of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), told Euronews in an interview.
The EU has around 100 nuclear reactors in 12 countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden). Almost a quarter of the electricity produced in the EU comes from nuclear power, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Nuclear plants release few pollutants into the air, which have made them an option as nations around the world seek clean energy to meet climate change targets. However, their construction and demolition produce large amounts of greenhouse gases.
Opponents have for decades cited the challenges involved with processing long-lived radioactive waste to lobby against new plants. Climate activists also say that relying on nuclear power risks slowing the rollout of renewable energy sources.
Germany in 2011 committed to phasing out nuclear power, thereby reinforcing its status as the leading voice of the anti-nuclear movement within the EU. This was achieved in April 2023 with the closure of the country's last three power stations.
During the German election campaign at the start of this year, then-candidate and now Chancellor Friedrich Merz, had promised to look into reviving the sector.
While Merz said in January that reopening the country's nuclear plants would "most likely not be feasible", his campaign vow marked a significant ideological shift in the German political landscape.
Just last week, Merz's government indicated it would stop blocking efforts to treat nuclear power on par with renewables in EU legislation, the Financial Times reported.
Italy is also considering reintroducing nuclear power.** At the end of the 1980s, Rome decided to put an end to nuclear power.
But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government has set 2030 as the target date for returning to nuclear power, according to the country's energy security minister. The coalition government argues that this resource will help to ensure the country's energy security and achieve the environmental objectives of decarbonisation.
For similar reasons, coal-dependent Poland has embarked on a vast nuclear programme. Warsaw decided in 2022 to build its first power station, with the first reactor scheduled to be operational from 2033.
Earlier this month, EU renewables darling Denmark said it was considering lifting a 40-year-old ban on nuclear energy, and that it would analyse the potential benefits of a new generation of nuclear power technologies.
And just last week, Sweden passed a law to fund a new generation of nuclear reactors.
Meanwhile, in Spain, the government is under pressure to reconsider phasing out nuclear power following the giant blackout that hit the country at the end of April.
El Gammal of the EERA suggested two strategies for a return to nuclear power, which are not exclusive but very different in their development.
"The first is to extend existing facilities as far as possible. And here, I would say that if it can be done under well-established safety conditions, it should be done as far as possible. It's a no-brainer," he explained.
"On the other hand, relaunching a new nuclear industry or relaunching the construction of new reactors is much more complicated, because first of all, the budgets involved are extremely large," El Gammal added. "Then there's the time it takes to build a power station. It takes around ten years."
"Given the urgent need for strategic autonomy and climate change, this is a major problem", he said. All the more so as "renewable energies are coming on stream much more quickly".
Building an atomic energy industry means taking a long-term view, and anticipating the cost of different energy resources over an extended period of time.
However, as El Gammal pointed out, renewable energies are based on a logic of decreasing costs and increasing technology, "whereas in mature technologies, such as nuclear power, the costs are highly dependent on raw materials, i.e. cement, steel, in other words, raw materials whose cost is tending to increase."
But nuclear and renewables are not contradictory strategies; they can go hand-in-hand, he stressed.
To try and bring certainty to the industry, Belgium's energy minister Bihet suggested setting up joint projects and multi-state investments, which he said "will bring down costs and also stabilise investment to give companies confidence".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Israel, Iran trade fresh strikes as conflict enters ninth day
The conflict between Israel and Iran has entered its ninth consecutive day, with reports of strikes emerging from both countries overnight. It comes after a meeting between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva on Friday yielded no concrete results, with Araghchi ruling out further talks on Iran's nuclear programme until a ceasefire is agreed. Aragchi arrived in Istanbul early on Saturday for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), according to media reports. Meanwhile, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that another commander from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had been killed overnight. Euronews brings you rolling coverage and updates throughout the day.
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
Von der Leyen's return as China hawk ends talk of diplomatic reset
Summer has arrived in Brussels with a new trend: the doves are out, the hawks are in. After weeks of telegraphing signs towards a diplomatic rapprochement with China, or at least a thaw, Ursula von der Leyen made an abrupt volte face at the G7 summit with a broadside attack against Beijing's "pattern of dominance, dependency and blackmail" vis-à-vis its trading partners, including the European Union and the United States. "China has largely shown its unwillingness to live within the constraints of the rules-based international system," von der Leyen said in her intervention. "While others opened their market, China focused on undercutting intellectual property protections, massive subsidies with the aim to dominate global manufacturing and supply chains," she went on. "This is not market competition – it is distortion with intent." The president of the European Commission declared, point blank, that the source of "the biggest collective problem" in the global trading system lay in China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Beijing's entry into the WTO has been highly controversial as it opened international markets to a wave of low-cost exports. The admission is linked to the so-called "China shock" and a decline in manufacturing jobs in both the EU and the US. At the G7 summit, von der Leyen warned a "new China shock" was underway. It was a gloves-off denunciation that laid bare the state of mind of the Commission chief, her mounting displeasure and exasperation. In many ways, it was a return to the hawkish stance of her first mandate, during which she famously promoted the concept of "de-risking" to slash vulnerable dependencies that China could exploit. Beijing was quick to hit back at von der Leyen's invective. Guo Jiakun, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry, called her remarks "baseless" and "biased". Guo, however, did not miss the chance to offer a new olive branch. "China stands ready to increase communication and coordination with the EU, properly handle trade differences, and achieve win-win and shared prosperity," he said. "That said, we firmly oppose any attempt to hurt China's right to development or even assert one's own interests at China's expense." The reset that never was The conciliatory attempt fits in with Beijing's "charm offensive", as diplomats call it, towards the bloc in response to the disruptive policies of US President Donald Trump, who has imposed punitive tariffs on allies and adversaries alike. Sensing an impending rupture in the Western alliance, China has made several overtures to curry favour with Brussels, including lifting controversial sanctions on lawmakers, ahead of a much-anticipated EU-China summit in late July. Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations as an opportunity to "open up a brighter future" in diplomacy. Von der Leyen replied: "We remain committed to deepening our partnership with China. A balanced relationship, built on fairness and reciprocity, is in our common interest." But in her G7 intervention, delivered with Trump in the room, this commitment was conspicuous by its absence. Instead, she let the hawk fly free and wild. At the core of her speech was Beijing's recent decision to restrict the sales of seven rare earth materials, which she said amounted to "weaponising" trade. China holds a quasi-monopolistic position over rare earths, the 17 metallic elements that are essential for building cutting-edge technologies. The country commands roughly 60% of the world's supply and 90% of the processing and refining capacity. Although the restrictions have eased in recent days, von der Leyen cautioned "the threat remains" and called on the G7 to close ranks to pile extra pressure on China. Rare earths are just the tip of an iceberg made up of commercial disputes that have driven a stark wedge between Brussels and Beijing. The past few years have seen the bloc impose steep duties on China-made electric vehicles, exclude Chinese companies from public tenders of medical devices, label Huawei and ZTE as "high-risk suppliers" of 5G networks, and launch investigations into suspicious uses of industrial subsidies. Brussels has also accused Beijing of engaging in large-scale campaigns of foreign information manipulations and interference (known as FIMI), hacking into state agencies, fuelling military tensions in the Taiwan Strait, violating the human rights of the Uyghur population and acting as the "key enabler" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Despite loud pleas from Europeans, Xi Jinping has doubled down on his "no-limits" partnership with Vladimir Putin, causing dismay and outrage across the continent. By offering no significant concessions and sticking to its long-standing practices, China has missed the opportunity offered by von der Leyen after Trump's inauguration, says Noah Barkin, a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. "Von der Leyen's unvarnished criticisms of China at the G7 summit are a response to Beijing's intransigence. Unless China shows a willingness to address Europe's concerns, the summit in July is unlikely to produce any deliverables of substance," Barkin said. "The likelihood is that tensions between the EU and China will continue to grow. The closing of the US market to Chinese products will lead to a diversion of exports into Europe, increasing the threat to European industry. And the withdrawal of US support for Ukraine will turn China's support for Russia into an even bigger problem for Europe." Keeping it real Although von der Leyen has earned plaudits for her clear-eyed, matter-of-fact assessment of EU-China relations, her views have not become universally accepted by member states, the true guardians of political power. In April, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez flew to Beijing, held a bilateral meeting with President Xi and made a plea to turn the page on the confrontational approach. "Spain is in favour of more balanced relations between the European Union and China, of finding negotiated solutions to our differences, which we have, and of greater cooperation in areas of common interest," Sánchez said. The Spaniard's words immediately caught the attention of Brussels and sent speculation of a diplomatic reset into overdrive. But Alicja Bachulska, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), says the buzzy discourse was never credible. "Hopes of a possible reset, if any, were mostly projected by those who do not see eye-to-eye with von der Leyen's Commission," Bachulska told Euronews. "This Commission seems quite consistent in explaining its approach towards China and how it sees the threats, the challenges, and the very limited opportunities for cooperation with China under current conditions." Politics, of course, come with economics attached. For many countries, particularly those export-oriented, China remains an extraordinarily valuable market of 1.4 billion people, despite the multiple obstacles and hurdles that European companies face when doing business. With Trump threatening a whopping 50% tariff on the bloc if trade talks fail, having a cushion to fall onto is considered indispensable to avoid – or at least mitigate – the potential ravaging impact. Trade will be at the very top of the agenda at the EU-China summit, with both sides looking forward to having something to announce. Brussels is keen to put an end to China's probes into brandy, pork and dairy products, which it considers unjustified. But as the date nears, hopes for a trade breakthrough that can make a tangible difference on the ground and relieve some of the tensions are fading, as von der Leyen's hardened tone at the G7 demonstrated. "It's about being realistic: we still see China as a partner, competitor and rival," a senior diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We have to be perhaps more confident about our interests, what we can do to pursue them better, but also act when actions are taken that threaten the stability of our continent." A diplomat from another country kept a cool head to lower expectations ahead of the summit, arguing China's alliance with Russia and campaigns of foreign interference remain "serious" and "disturbing" factors with no sign of improvement. "If you want to really deepen ties with us, that's impossible if, at the same time, you behave like this," the diplomat said. "The EU needs to stand up for its own interests, no matter who's in the White House."
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Live: Israel strikes missile storage and launch sites in Iran
21/06/2025 - 06:59 22 arrested for links to Israeli spy services since start of conflict Police in Iran's Qom province said Saturday that 22 people "linked to Israeli spy services" had been arrested since June 13, Fars news agency reported. "22 people were identified and arrested on charges of being linked to the Zionist regime's spy services, disturbing public opinion, and supporting the criminal regime," the agency stated, citing the head of police intelligence in Iran's Qom province. 21/06/2025 - 06:58 Diplomatic breakthrough elusive as Israel-Iran war stretches into second week Hours of talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war entered its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met for four hours Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh U.S. military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors.
