Reducing energy dependence: Why Europe needs to move past the nuclear debate
At 4 AM on the 24th February, 2022, Russian forces entered Ukrainian soil in what Moscow coined “a special military operation”. In a startling geopolitical move, Putin single handedly reshuffled the established global order. His invasion stripped away naïve assumptions of Europe being beyond intrastate wars while reaffirming the predicaments of energy dependency. Relying on Russian energy to power European homes does, indeed, come at a cost.
European states that were dependent on Russian gas and oil at the onset of the Ukrainian War were then confronted with two major issues.
The first issue regards geopolitical interests. While importing Russian gas and oil, European leaders are inadvertently funding Putin’s war machine. Finding alternatives to Russian gas and oil quickly became a top priority, as the Russian economy is highly reliant on its energy sectors.
The second, more pragmatic, issue concerns European states’ own supply of energy. In 2021, Europe imported 45% of its gas and 25% of its oil from Russia. As such, states are beholden to Moscow’s interests; Russia could simply turn off the taps whenever it pleases, leaving populations across the region to freeze during the winter months. Nonetheless, short term interests like keeping their citizens warm are entangled with long term needs for European political security. States also need to push for renewable energy sources, having ratified the Paris Accord climate commitments. Thus, faced with the challenge of balancing short- and long-term energy needs, European leaders must turn towards an alternative source: nuclear energy.
The use of atomic power has long been subject to contention. The time for debate, however, has run its course; it is now vital for European states to embrace nuclear power with open arms.
It is undeniable that atomic energy is key to a sustainable energy portfolio. Yet, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has amplified calls for nuclear power by adding a national sovereignty element to the argument. Already one of the cleanest and most reliable sources of energy, nuclear power provides Europe with an opportunity to increase its energy sovereignty. Indeed, European leaders cannot guarantee energy to their citizens in the current geopolitical landscape. The time has come for European states to manage their energy resources in concordance with their national interests.
The European community is looking at nuclear energy through an increasingly positive lens. In July 2022, the European parliament incorporated nuclear power as a transition energy within its eco-friendly tax incentives, boosting investments in the sector. Nonetheless, Europe is yet to reach consensus on atomic power. A nuclear debate has formed, pitching what is popularly coined as the “nuclear alliance”, led by France, against nuclear sceptic countries. Germany is at the forefront of the latter movement, having adopted a staunch “Energiewende” strategy which firmly condemns nuclear energy - a policy which led to the last 3 German reactors being closed in April 2023. However, German decisions to freeze nuclear power from its transition to renewables seems to be short sighted.
Berlin is bound to suffer from marginalizing nuclear sources from its energy portfolio. Its Energiewende strategy bets on renewables sources to power its economy while relying on gas to cover its energy deficit. Having imported 52% of its gas from Russian companies in 2021, Berlin has underestimated, or simply ignored, the geopolitical implications associated with its energy decisions.
In the face of the current energy crisis, Germany is paying the price of its naivety. What would the state do if Russia simply turned off the tap? A deep recession would surely ensue. Without guaranteed energy sources, Berlin has put its industrial power at risk. It is thus in German and European interests for Berlin to give up its nuclear sceptic position.
Europe needs to build a collective and pragmatic energy policy to compete with dominant powers like Russia. In the current geopolitical situation, unity is key; an influential European presence can only be achieved through cohesion. Regional economic, political, and environmental stakes all point to a common energy policy.
As a result, although consensus exists regarding the development of renewable energy, adopting nuclear power would further benefit European states by upholding its energy sovereignty.
Particularly in the Ukrainian conflict, issues of sovereignty and state control of resources are front and center of geopolitical concerns. Europe simply can’t afford the luxury of being picky about its energy sources. This is especially true in a context where developing renewable energy sources is labelled a top priority in the region. What has become an ideological debate between hegemons France and Germany cannot trump energy independence. In other words, economic securities and sheltered living conditions must take precedence over ideological positions. Citizens can be assured that endorsing nuclear energy will not come at the expense of renewable energy projects; it will merely give states breathing space. Through nuclear power, European economic and geopolitical strategies will be relieved of energy-related overarching pressure.
While working towards energy independence, European states will further be confronted with questions concerning the role of the EU in public policies. Although EU members profit from closer cooperation, questions regarding the legitimacy and sovereignty of member states are bound to arise. When the time comes, such countries must only look at Ukraine’s predicament to conclude that the EU, instead, protects the autonomy and power of its members.
Image courtesy of Wade Bryant via Getty Images, ©2016. Some rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
