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Decision to turn back on nuclear was a strategic mistake, EU's Von der Leyen says
Von der Leyen links Europe's nuclear phase-out to energy security risks amid Middle East conflict and announces a €200 million EU guarantee to boost innovative nuclear tech.
- On Tuesday, March 10, 2026, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Europe's nuclear phaseout a "strategic mistake" and announced a €200 million EU programme for investment guarantees at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris.
- After the 2011 Fukushima disaster, nuclear energy fell into crisis with Chernobyl fears reinforcing the retreat, Germany retiring its last plants in 2023, and von der Leyen noting the Middle East crisis highlights fossil-fuel dependence.
- In 1990, one-third of Europe’s electricity came from nuclear, but today it is close to 15%, while globally nuclear supplies about 9% with roughly 440 reactors, per the World Nuclear Association.
- The European Commission will push small modular reactors, targeting SMRs operational by the early 2030s and using emissions trading system resources to de-risk investment and attract private capital.
- Political debates in Germany, including remarks by Friedrich Merz, call the German phaseout 'a huge mistake' as other nations extend reactor lifetimes, shaping Europe's nuclear future.
141 Articles
141 Articles
"While in 1990 a third of European electricity came from nuclear power, today this share fell to about 15%. This reduction in the share of nuclear power was a choice. I think it was a strategic mistake," said the European Commission's head on Tuesday.
Now that the price of gas oscillates around $54 per megawattora, that is more than 20 percent in more than two weeks ago, and crude oil is close to $100 per barrel, everyone is rediscovering the urgency of energy autonomy. "Italy depends too much, more than the European average and the major Western economies, on imported fossil sources," explains Corriere della Sera. "We consume more energy than we produce and to satisfy our needs we supply our…
Ursula von der Leyen Calls Abandoning Nuclear Power "A Strategic Mistake" – 15 Years After Supporting the Nuclear Phase-Out
Ursula von der Leyen has called abandoning nuclear power "a strategic mistake" and said Europe should "lead the world" in the technology – 15 years after supporting the nuclear phase-out. We are led by imbeciles.
WHY EUROPE BRACES FOR "MAJOR LOSSES" IN IRAN WAR WITHOUT FIGHTING
Emirates 24/7) — Europe finds itself in a state of strategic paralysis, facing the prospect of "major losses" as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, exposing the continent’s profound energy insecurity. Analysts suggest that Europe’s current vulnerability is the direct result of what German Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently termed a "strategic mistake"—the abandonment of nuclear energy under pressure from climate activists. This policy sh…
The European Commission today presents a plan for small nuclear reactors.
This is unexpected for many: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) has described the rejection of nuclear power as a "strategic error" and now envisages risk safeguards of EUR 200 million for private donors investing in new nuclear technologies. Hessen, head of government Boris Rhein (CDU), is also in favour of this. At the start of the nuclear energy summit in France on Tuesday, the Leyen said that a "new European strategy for smal…
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