"Generating energy"

Von der Leyen calls for the expansion of nuclear power

Ursula von der Leyen on August 30 in Prague(Bild: AFP)

Against the background of the current global political situation, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for an expansion of nuclear energy.

"When it comes to our energy, we have to generate our own energy," she said at the Globesec security conference in Prague. This requires more energy generation from renewable sources, more nuclear power and more efficiency.

"Security assumptions are in ruins"
"With Ukrainian cities, many of our basic security assumptions are also in ruins," she said. For decades, many people had said that economic integration was the true source of security, that Europe had bought Russian gas. "That was supposed to be the guarantee that Moscow would never start a new war on the old continent," said von der Leyen. "But that was a fallacy."

That was supposed to be the guarantee that Moscow would never start a new war on the old continent. But that was a fallacy.

Ursula von der Leyen

The CDU politician did not say in her speech whether she also considers a return to the use of nuclear power in Germany to be appropriate. Countries in the EU such as France, Hungary and Poland are currently working on expanding nuclear energy. In Germany, the last nuclear power plants will be decommissioned in April 2023.