Today, almost half of the countries in the European Union (EU) generate nuclear energy. France has the most operational nuclear reactors, followed by Belgium and Spain. These countries can quickly increase their power production from existing reactors since most of them usually don't run at full capacity. This was one of the solutions proposed by the International Energy Agency to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas. Among them, Italy closed all its nuclear power plants in 1990 and since then nuclear power has been discontinued due to referendums in 1987. Countries that are against the expansion of nuclear energy, including Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Portugal, have expressed their worries about the disposal of nuclear waste and the risks of an accident.
The European Commission is ready to decide later this year whether to classify nuclear energy as a clean energy source; if it does, it could boost investment in nuclear energy across the region, experts say. For financial, political and technical reasons, Cuba, Libya and Poland never completed the construction of their first nuclear plants, and Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ghana, Ireland, Kuwait, Oman, Peru and Singapore never built their first planned nuclear power plants. Located along the south bank of the Dnieper River, Zaporizhzhia's six reactors constitute the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Despite its heavy reliance on nuclear energy, Slovakia only operates four plants, showing how effective nuclear energy can be. The country's four nuclear power plants (NPP), with a net nuclear power capacity of more than 13 GWe, generate around half of Ukraine's energy needs.
The Russian capture of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, located in southern Ukraine, has caused widespread condemnation after fighting was reported near the nuclear reactor.
