On 10 March 2026, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, went to Paris, in France, where she delivered a speech at the Nuclear Energy Summit. She described the decline of nuclear power in Europe as a “strategic error”, marking a major policy shift. She acknowledged that the phasing out of a reliable, affordable and low-emission energy source had weakened the continent, whilst highlighting the risks of dependence on fossil fuels, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions (such as the Israel-Iran conflict), which undermine European energy security. In her view, nuclear power and renewables must now work “hand in hand” to ensure the EU’s independence and competitiveness. Furthermore, she presented an ambitious strategy for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), aiming for their deployment from the 2030s onwards, with a €200 million fund (drawn from the EU carbon market) to stimulate private investment, as well as a call to harmonise regulations and speed up cross-border authorisations in order to facilitate their large-scale adoption.