Atomkraft in Europe- From Nein danke to Ja bitte?

The atom isn’t the only thing that’s divisible; so are Europeans when it comes to nuclear power.

The 2023 shutdown of the last nuclear power plants in Germany, under Olaf Scholz’s chancellorship made a lot of noise on the continent. Some wondered if other countries were going to follow suit. But it seems that it will not be the case, and leaders of the nuclear sector in Europe, notably France and Finland, made it very clear that nuclear was gonna be the way forward and that Berlin would pay the price of what experts would call an incoherent energy policy. On the one side, Germany is indeed one of the global leaders of renewable energy, succeeding in the increase of wind and solar power where pessimists predicted failure, while on the other, they phased out their nuclear first, rather than their coal industry, which still accounts for nearly 25% of total electricity in Germany.

The Shift: The Nuclear Alliance and EDF’s victory

Indeed, since the closure of Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 in April 2023 during the SPD-Grünen-FDP coalition, Germany’s reliance on imports has become a necessity to fulfil its needs. 8.66 TWh were imported that same year, ad well as a total of 25.19 TWh in 2024, with France filling the gap via EDF (Électricité De France, the state-owned and biggest French energy company), at the worst time of the energy crisis that hit Europe back then.

Notwithstanding the rejoicing of some of the European Greens that cheered for the dismantlement of the last German nuclear power plants, rather than more efforts focusing on shutting down the coal plants that make Germany’s electricity one of the least sustainable today in Europe, it seems the situation has evolved positively for the Nuclear industry in Europe. France has spearheaded that change and is now looking forward to strengthening its place in Europe, as the de facto head of the Nuclear Alliance, a group of 12 countries (France, Finland, Poland, Croatia, the Netherlands amongst others) founded in 2024, pushing forward for the development of nuclear energy as a key factor in decarbonization and energy independence efforts, something that has been in line with the french energy policy since the 70s.

In fact, it was only recently, after years of tensions with Berlin, that the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz  clearly stated in May 2025 during a visit to France that Germany wouldn’t further block the development of nuclear power in Europe.

This warmed up relations between the two countries, as France and Germany underwent a relatively cool phase of their relations in the previous years, notably because of energy and defence policies that saw Berlin and Paris clash on multiple occasions. The lowest point of the relations was probably 2023 after it was revealed that two German foundations on the Bundestag payroll (The Heinrich Böll and Rosa Luxemburg foundations) were directly conducting efforts to hinder the development of the French nuclear industry, which sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

This comes as a double victory for the French nuclear industry, as the ARENH (Meaning regulated access to historic nuclear energy) scheme, which forced EDF to sell 100TW per year at the low cost €42/MWh is due to end by December 2025. The scheme, which had been implemented in 2011 during Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency, followed the European decision to break energy monopolies in Europe, had been widely criticised in the country, a lot of experts and people alike saying that neighbouring countries were using the scheme to provide themselves with cheap, carbon-free energy rather than accelerating their own transition. Germany was especially pointed, as the phasing out of their own nuclear industry was seen as highly hypocritical, as it was believed that they would need to import French power the moment their last reactor was turned off.

France did not defend its industry properly back then and has, it seems, learnt its lesson as EDF will quite literally regain a monopoly post 2025 with a much more favourable scheme.

Indeed, EDF will be free to sell its electricity at market prices, but if its volume of sales exceeds a certain threshold (based on historical “normal” profits or production costs), it will have to pay a tax going from 50 to 90% of that excess revenue to the French state.  If the ARENH provided French consumers with relatively low prices, EDF will now likely prioritise selling more abroad than raising prices domestically. This is seen as a great victory for the industry and the country as a whole as the feeling of the industry being “profited from” is eased, and hopes that neighbouring countries will invest more or rethink their phase out of nuclear rise.

This comes at a time when EDF is spearheading the replacement of existing reactors and the building of the new generation of EPR2.

Uranium back in fashion: The NZIA and its subsequent help to extending nuclear power in Europe.

All of this came after intense lobbying efforts on the part of pro-nuclear forces in Europe, which resulted in nuclear being included as one of the beneficiaries of the Net Zero Industry Act of June 2024, a crucial European text that recognises decarbonization and energy security as the utmost priorities, rather than competition. This would allow key industries in the sector to flourish and work in a monopolistic manner if needs be, towards these goals, as forced competition would only jeopardise them.

The NZIA was massively pushed by France and most of its nuclear industry firms (EDF and Framatome come to mind) as well as Finland. They all lobbied for the recognition of nuclear as a strategic tool that must be used to combat climate change alongside renewables and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The war in Ukraine only helped their line of argument.

This was accompanied by Belgium and the Netherlands announcing in May 2024 new investments for nuclear at the same period. If Belgium “just” plans to extend the life of its existing reactor with Prime Minister Alexander de Croo saying at the time that it was “unrealistic” to hope to phase out nuclear if the country wanted to reach its decarbonization goals, the Netherlands clearly announced their intent to build new power plants in the 2030s as well as extend the life of the Borssele plant. This marks a serious turn in their nuclear policies, considering the fact that both countries planned for a phase-out in the early 2000s. Two new EPRs in the Netherlands would provide something on the order of 5 GW of low-carbon electricity

Germany dropping its opposition to nuclear in Europe altogether may also unblock the long-lasting crisis between them and Poland, considering the former repeatedly stalled Polish plans to invest in nuclear and open its first power plant with regulatory (Via the EU), diplomatic and economical measures, a bewildering move considering Polish energy is today the most carbon heavy (Averaging 653g of Co²/kWh in the last 12 months. France or Finland on the same period were only 25 and 45g, respectively) on the continent.

France and Poland signed a deal in May 2025 on this specific matter, with EDF hoping to secure its share of the future Polish nuclear market, directly competing with the US company Westinghouse, which also expressed interest in the matter. The German blockade of Polish nuclear developments has soured relations between the two countries, though the change of government in Poland in 2023 has seemingly helped re-establish a form of dialogue, made even more possible with Germany backing off its anti-nuclear stance on a European level.

The future?

The recent international situation, as well as the climate emergency, has helped change the narrative regarding nuclear in Europe, now being seen as an essential tool if Europe wants to achieve energy sovereignty, as well as the ambitious climate goals it is aiming for. France’s role on the matter has not only been one of pure benevolence, as it aimed to preserve its industry and one of its greatest champions. But France’s energy policy has itself been a victim of a lack of coherence, with nuclear being both championed and attacked since the 70s, which has slowed down its rollout and its efficiency at times. It has now benefited of a coherent support for a solid twenty years, with governments throughout the period attempting to defend the “Filière” (Industry)  and defending France’s role on the European level. The end of ARENH is awaited by EDF and companies of this industrial sector, as it’s expected to boost the sector’s revenue.

As Europe recalibrates its energy strategy, nuclear seems to be no longer a question of ideology and has, for now, it seems, defeated dogmatism. For the Nuclear Alliance, it is a needed cornerstone alongside renewable for both decarbonization and strategic independence.