Nuclear Energy after Chernobyl and Fukushima
Reactions in Eastern and Western Europe
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Chernobyl accident resulted in a de facto freeze in the construction of nuclear power stations throughout Europe that lasted several years. The meltdown in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has yet to trigger such an effect. After Fukushima, several states may have once again recalled the goal of phasing out nuclear power, but other states are still betting on its expansion. Among the states seeking to phase out nuclear energy, there is not a single East European country. However, the European Union’s increasing role in issues of energy and climate change and the declining profitability of operating nuclear power stations are showing the states seeking to expand nuclear power the limits of this energy source. Only Russia is pursuing ambitious plans for its expansion.
(Osteuropa 7/2013, pp. 101–122)