Meanwhile, the Greens are losing public favor. Over the longer term, we have every reason to expect that Germany s nuclear phase-out decision will not survive the political coalition that produced it. Sweden too experienced the misfortune of seeing minority anti-nuclear opinion magnified by the process of coalition building, leading to the premature closure of one reactor. But the surrounding debate saw Swedish anti-nuclearism strongly repudiated, and today nuclear power in Sweden retains strong public support. Meanwhile, in Sweden and neighboring Finland, progress continues toward the construction of geological repositories acceptable to surrounding communities.
Russian policy adds to the strong prospect for nuclear in Europe.
Minatom has established a bold 20-year plan to double Russia s nuclear capacity and to import and reprocess of 20,000 tonnes of foreign spent nuclear fuel. If implemented, Russia s storage plan could solve repository issues for a number of other countries. Elsewhere in Europe, nuclear prospects appear equally solid. Slovakia, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine have reactors under construction. In summary, a survey of the European landscape shows a nuclear prospect far stronger than commonly assumed.