Nuclear Power in the European Union

At a time when other European countries are trying to move away from nuclear energy and increase their use of renewables, the British government announced plans to build its first new nuclear reactors in nearly two decades. At the same time as Britain's announcement, France and Germany, the countries with the largest economies in Europe, are seeking to move away from nuclear energy. Public support for nuclear power in France has somewhat declined since the Fukushima incident. The events in Fukushima in 2011 reignited the debate over nuclear power in Germany, and in May of that year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the country would close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022.

Despite France's and Germany's efforts to move away from nuclear energy, several European countries are trying to expand their nuclear energy sectors over the coming decades, though the process will be slow and expensive. Poland plans to build two nuclear power plants, each with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts, to reduce its dependence on coal. Warsaw hopes the first unit will be operational around 2025. Finland is another country that continues to pursue nuclear power. Finland started work on a nuclear plant in 2005, but the project has been repeatedly delayed. Another plant is supposed to be completed by 2024, but it is still unclear who will construct it. The Czech Republic has delayed a decision on whether to expand its nuclear sector with a new plant at Temelin until early 2015. In Lithuania, plans to build a nuclear power plant to reduce energy dependence on Russia have been delayed because of unpredictable political support at home and because the three Baltic states, all of which would profit from the electricity supply, have struggled to agree on the ownership of the project.

Europe will remain divided on the future of energy, as countries such as the United Kingdom and Poland focus on shale gas development, expand nuclear power plants or continue to rely on coal, while others attempt to transition to renewables. The high levels of unemployment and low rates of economic growth in the European Union suggest the costly transition to green energy will likely remain slow and controversial in the coming years.

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