Europe turning away from nuclear energy was 'strategic mistake': EU chief

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was a "strategic mistake" for Europe to turn away from civilian nuclear power, adding that Brussels would earmark 200 million euros for "innovative nuclear technologies".

"It was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emission power," she said at the opening of a nuclear energy summit just outside Paris, announcing that the European Union would "create a 200-million-euro guarantee to support investment in innovative nuclear technologies".

Von der Leyen said that the Middle East war had exposed Europe's "vulnerability" and dependence on fossil fuels as the conflict entered its second week.

"For fossil fuels, we are completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports. They are putting us at a structural disadvantage to other regions," she said at the opening of a nuclear energy summit in Paris.

"The current Middle East crisis gives a stark reminder of the vulnerability it creates."

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that civilian nuclear power allowed for energy sovereignty as he spoke at the opening of an energy summit in Paris.

"Nuclear power is key to reconciling both independence -- and thus energy sovereignty -- with decarbonisation, and thus carbon neutrality," Macron said.

"We can see it in our current geopolitical context: when we are too dependent on hydrocarbons, they can become a tool of pressure, or even of destabilisation," he said, referring to the Middle East war.