Dylematy energetyki jądrowej w Unii Europejskiej
Nuclear energy dilemmas in the European Union

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the changes that have occurred in the world and European nuclear power engineering after the disaster of Fukushima plant in Japan in 2011. In the Introduction, the author describes the state of nuclear power engineering in the world, with its 443 nuclear reactors markedly prevailing over traditional coal or gas fuelled power plants. The analysis involves the status of the sector in the European Union where the greatest attention is paid to the free market, competitiveness and safety. The choice between traditional or nuclear plants is left to respective states. This gives rise to large differences and lack of common policy of the European Union relating to the whole sector. The paper discusses Germany’s decision to gradually resign from nuclear power engineering by 2022. The reasons for that are mostly political, but also economic and present an attempt at increasing power production from renewable sources. The opposite position is occupied by France where 75% of the total electric power is obtained from nuclear plants and for which the whole sector constitutes a huge economic conglomerate employing over a million people. Subject of analysis in the paper is also the energy policy of other EU states, including the Central and East European countries for which the embracement of nuclear power is the only sensible alternative capable of dealing with the so called decarbonization, that is the increased CO2 emission to the atmosphere. There is also some attention given to Poland which faces the final and strategical choice (in 2013) of the way along which its national power policy will go. Summing up, the author, in agreement with the experts’ opinion, notes that despite the difficulties, inconsequences and limitations, the growth of nuclear power engineering will continue within the framework of global civilisational development for which there is no other alternative.

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