More than 30 countries want to accelerate the expansion of nuclear power

Unlike Germany, many countries continue to rely on nuclear energy. At the first meeting of the Nuclear Alliance in Brussels, more than 30 governments announced plans to triple expansion by 2050.

The IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has made a big splash together with Belgium. They all came together at the exhibition center at the Atomium in Brussels, which serves as a backdrop for the family photo for the assembled friends of nuclear power: the president from France, the head of government from Hungary, the prime ministers from Sweden and the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Serbia, from the Czech Republic, the Vice Prime Minister from China, the Foreign Minister from Japan, a large delegation from the USA. The list of political celebrities could be continued for a few more minutes.

This family photo is a strong symbol, says host Alexander de Croo, the Belgian head of government. “This Atomium shows how much we believed in the 1950s that scientific progress would solve our major challenges. We need that again now, more than ever.”

Germany rejects EU funding

And that is also the mood among the 37 countries that came as part of or as observers of the nuclear alliance, as well as representatives from industry and science. Of the 27 EU members, a good half are on board. “I expect this summit to strengthen nuclear power in the EU and in the global energy mix,” says Klaus Johannis, the Romanian president.

And ideally, money should also flow from the EU. “We want nuclear power,” explains the Serbian president, for example. “But we have no know-how and no money. We rely on European help.” The Belgian host de Croo suggests in an interview that research and perhaps nuclear projects could be paid for from the EU budget.

Normally this is a national matter – but very expensive. Germany has withdrawn from nuclear power and, unsurprisingly, rejects financing from the common Brussels funds. “Nuclear power is viewed differently in Europe,” explains Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. But where people are open to it, it can play an important role on the path to clean energy.

Greenpeace: A nuclear fairy tale

The final declaration of this first meeting of the Nuclear Alliance is a clear commitment to the expansion of nuclear energy, which is to be tripled by 2050. The signatories commit to, as they say, “fully exploiting” the potential of nuclear energy and call on international donors to treat nuclear energy projects in the same way as other zero-emission energy suppliers in their investments.

On the sidelines of the meeting, activists from the environmental organization Greenpeace protested against the use and expansion of nuclear energy. They rappelled down from the roof of the exhibition hall and held a poster with the words “Nuclear Fairytale” over the entrance.