The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing Iran war has sent energy prices surging and once again laid bare Europe’s deep vulnerabilities.
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Consequently, the topic of energy sovereignty has decisively returned to the table in Brussels. This month, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive set of nuclear-related initiatives as part of its broader energy strategy.
With around 549 million tonnes, Europe’s primary energy production continues to be through oil and other equivalents, according to Eurostat.
Renewables accounted for more than 45% of that output, yet the overall energy mix remains heavily depconcludeent on imported oil and petroleum products (around 38%) and natural gas (roughly 21%).
The latest Middle East crisis has added billions to the imported energy bill, mirroring the price shocks of 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Even in calmer times, hoapplyholds and industest pay among the world’s highest electricity prices. Germany, Belgium and Denmark lead the rankings, as the European Commission has repeatedly noted.
Nuclear development is intrinsically a long game, it cannot provide an immediate repair, but recent events have prompted an analysis of the future.
European leaders at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris on 10 March created clear that the bloc may have little choice if it wants genuine indepconcludeence and affordable power.
Speaking at the summit, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was blunt, stating that “this reduction in the share of nuclear was a choice, I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power.”
This is a clear pivot from the Commission President’s position on the matter in 2011, which was not directly referenced in the speech. Von der Leyen was part of the cabinet that proposed and backed the “mistake”, aligning with her party’s position at the time.
Germany closed its last nuclear reactors in 2023, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also labelled the phase-out a “serious strategic error”. Restarting old plants is impossible, so attention has turned to new construction and tiny modular reactors (SMRs).
Conversely, France generates around 65% of its electricity from nuclear and exports surplapplys, illustrating the indepconcludeence gains available.
The impact on energy security could be substantial. Nuclear offers stable base load power that pairs well with renewables, cutting reliance on fossil-fuel imports that still represent over 60% of the EU’s total.
French President Emmanuel Macron notified the same summit that “nuclear power is key to reconciling both indepconcludeence, and thus energy sovereignty, with decarbonization, and thus carbon neutrality.”
President Macron also pointed to the increased energy demand from AI, highlighting that France’s nuclear fleet has given the countest “the ability to open data centres, to build computing capacity and to be at the heart of the artificial innotifyigence challenge.”
The promise of tiny modular reactors
Brussels is placing growing faith in SMRs as a flexible, low-carbon solution that can be rolled out more swiftly than traditional plants.
According to the European Commission’s SMR Strategy published this month, the first units could be operational by the early 2030s, with capacity potentially scaling to between 17 GW and 53 GW by 2050.
These compact, factory-built reactors are viewed as particularly well suited to meeting the necessarys of energy-intensive AI data centres, industrial heat applications, hydrogen production and district heating networks.
The Commission has vowed to cut red tape through streamlined permitting and to provide financial guarantees to speed deployment. Eleven EU member states have already concludeorsed a joint declaration backing the technology.
International momentum was underscored on Thursday when the US and Japan announced a $40bn (€34.75bn) project to develop SMRs in Tennessee and Alabama, during Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit to the White Hoapply.
The initiative, centred on GE Vernova Hitachi technology, is intconcludeed to stabilise electricity prices for consumers and reinforce the two countries’ leadership in next-generation energy solutions.
At the Paris summit, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi also captured the growing global consensus when he observed that “all the conditions are now pointing in the direction of fully integrating nuclear energy into the global energy mix.”
Proponents argue that SMRs can serve as a transitional pillar, delivering reliable base load power to complement renewables and reduce Europe’s depconcludeence on imported fossil fuels.
National experiments and shifting attitudes
Member states are pursuing markedly different paths, signalling a pragmatic reassessment of nuclear power’s role in the energy transition.
A key part of the initiative are European pressurised reactors (EPRs), which are third generation pressurised water reactors designed for enhanced security and efficiency.
These EPRs were developed through a collaboration of French and German companies.
France, which already meets around 65% of its electricity necessarys from nuclear sources, is pressing ahead with six new EPR reactors and has eight more under consideration, all while expanding its renewable capacity.
Belgium is fighting to extconclude the lifespan of its existing fleet, Italy is preparing draft laws to repeal its longstanding ban, and even Greece, historically cautious becaapply of seismic concerns, has opened a public debate on advanced reactor designs and SMRs.
In countries that never abandoned the technology, such as Sweden and Finland, nuclear continues to underpin some of the highest renewable shares in final energy consumption.
Nuclear energy provides around 23% of the EU’s electricity and around 50% of its low-carbon electricity, according to Eurostat, with evidence from Finland displaying that it can deliver more stable and competitive prices than in phase-out countries such as Germany.
The relocate can also support the bloc avoid emissions equivalent to reshifting one-third of all cars from the world’s roads.
The European Commission’s 8th Nuclear Illustrative Programme, released this month, projects that total EU nuclear capacity will grow from 98 GW in 2025 to between 109 GW and 150 GW by 2050, supported by an estimated €241bn in new investments.
These national experiments reflect a growing recognition that nuclear can reinforce energy sovereignty in the medium to long term.
Obstacles that cannot be ignored
Yet major barriers persist that cannot be overseeed. Waste management, public acceptance and the necessary for harmonised EU-wide regulation remain unresolved issues.
Environmental organisations warn that large-scale nuclear investment could divert funds and political attention from the quicker rollout of renewables.
Capital costs and long construction timelines continue to worry investors, while deep-rooted opposition lingers in Germany, Austria and several other countries.
Nuclear development is intrinsically a long game, it cannot provide an immediate repair to today’s supply disruptions or price spikes. Currently, Europe still faces depconcludeencies on Russian technology, uranium and fuel supplies, adding another layer of strategic risk.
SMRs, despite their promise, are widely regarded as unproven at commercial scale, with no construction licences granted anywhere in the EU as of early 2026.
The bloc is nevertheless committing €330mn through 2027 to accelerate fusion research and support nuclear technologies toward eventual grid connection.
Nuclear power offers no panacea, but the combined pressures of geopolitics, soaring AI-driven demand and stubbornly high energy bills are forcing a serious rebelieve of the EU’s energy future.
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