Middle East Crisis: EU Admits Making a "Strategic Mistake"

“Europe’s abandonment of this reliable, affordable low-emission energy source is a strategic mistake,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the opening of the nuclear energy summit in France on March 10.

Von der Leyen was referring to nuclear energy. At this time, the conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran has entered its second week. Although international oil prices have retreated somewhat after Trump stated that “the war will end soon,” they remain high, significantly above pre-war levels.

European countries like Germany, Italy, and the UK rely heavily on natural gas imports. The rise in oil and natural gas prices has hit many European nations particularly hard.

After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU drastically reduced its energy imports from Russia. In punishing Russia by cutting off a vital resource, the current Middle East crisis has exposed the EU’s energy vulnerabilities.

In this context, von der Leyen said on the 10th, “In terms of fossil fuels, we are completely dependent on expensive and unstable imports. This puts us at a structural disadvantage compared to other regions.”

Von der Leyen is from Germany, which is one of the EU countries actively reducing nuclear power.

At this summit, von der Leyen announced the establishment of a €200 million fund for European nuclear innovation. She said, “In 1990, one-third of Europe’s electricity came from nuclear power, but today that figure is only about 15%.”

Compared to Europe, China is much better prepared. Over the years, China’s nuclear industry has continued to advance, and renewable energy sources like solar and wind have made rapid progress. “China has been preparing for years to respond to the Iranian oil crisis,” said von der Leyen on the same day. The Wall Street Journal headlined that the global energy market turmoil triggered by the Middle East war is an emergency scenario China has long been preparing for.

The article states that out of concern that regional conflicts could cut off oil supplies and impact the economy, Beijing has been working to reduce dependence on imports, build large-scale strategic reserves, and promote energy diversification. A core principle of China’s energy security strategy is to rely as much as possible on domestic resources to meet its needs. Given limited oil and natural gas reserves and high extraction costs, China is promoting electric power applications in feasible areas, such as replacing fuel vehicles with electric vehicles. China has abundant coal reserves for power generation and a large supply chain for solar panels and wind turbines. It also has the world’s largest power grid system.

How powerful is China’s grid system? Bloomberg reported last month that China’s electricity consumption surpassed 100 trillion kilowatt-hours by 2025, more than double that of the United States, and even exceeds the total annual electricity consumption of the EU, Russia, India, and Japan combined.