Finally, the EU is waking up to the mess of its own energy policy. The same policy that has cost Europeans real money, real competitiveness, and – yes – real hardship.

On 17 July 2026 the European Commission dropped its Electrification Action Plan. The goal sounds ambitious enough: double the share of electricity in final energy use to 46 % by 2040 and cut the fossil-fuel import bill by hundreds of billions a year. Buried in the broader push for heat pumps, EVs and grids is a quiet but important shift: nuclear is no longer treated as the awkward relative at the family dinner. It is recognised as part of the clean, reliable power mix Europe actually needs.

This did not come out of nowhere. The bigger change on direct EU funding for nuclear capacity was already signalled in the 2028–2034 budget proposals. What we are seeing now is the slow, bureaucratic acceptance of something many of us pointed out years ago.

Belgium offers the clearest example of the U-turn. After years of planning a complete phase-out, the country repealed the old law in 2025. In 2026 the government is busy extending the life of existing reactors, exploring restarts, and even negotiating a state takeover of the nuclear assets. The old ideology met the energy crisis – and lost.

In late April the Commission itself warned member states against prematurely shutting operating nuclear plants. Early closures, Brussels now admits, leave Europe more dependent on fossil fuels and more exposed to external pressure. Something I wrote about on the old blog in early April 2026. You’re welcome.

Can we finally have an honest conversation about the economic destruction and the human cost of treating reliable, low-carbon baseload power as a moral failing? Or will we keep pretending the last decade of policy was just an unfortunate misunderstanding?

If you’ve been watching this slow-motion train wreck, drop a comment. I’d rather hear the hard truths than another round of green slogans.