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EU Leaders Debate Modular Nuclear Reactors Amid Energy Crisis

4/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

Supporters say modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are crucial for the European Union's energy and climate goals amid energy-security concerns heightened by the Iran war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the shift away from nuclear energy a "strategic mistake."
Critics, including Luke Haywood of the European Environmental Bureau, call nuclear a "costly distraction" and say SMRs are years from deployment and unsuitable for a renewables-dominated system.

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Story summary

Supporters say modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) are crucial for the European Union's energy and climate goals amid energy-security concerns heightened by the Iran war.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the shift away from nuclear energy a "strategic mistake."
Critics, including Luke Haywood of the European Environmental Bureau, call nuclear a "costly distraction" and say SMRs are years from deployment and unsuitable for a renewables-dominated system.