Ring of Call: Amid the Middle East Crisis, the EU Admits to a "Strategic Mistake"

"Abandoning this reliable and affordable low-emission energy source is a strategic mistake," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, at the opening of the nuclear energy summit in France on March 10.

Von der Leyen referred to nuclear energy. At this time, the conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran entered its second week. Although international oil prices slightly declined after Trump's statement that "the war will end soon," they remained high and had risen significantly compared to before the war started.

European countries such as Germany, Italy, and the UK rely heavily on natural gas imports, and rising oil and gas prices have hit many European countries particularly hard.

After the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the EU significantly reduced its energy imports from Russia. After punishing Russia by cutting off its own arms, the current Middle East crisis has exposed the EU's vulnerability in the energy issue.

It was under these circumstances that Von der Leyen said on the 10th: "We are completely dependent on expensive and unstable fossil fuel imports, which puts us at a structural disadvantage compared to other regions."

Von der Leyen comes 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 euro fund for European nuclear energy innovation. She said, "In 1990, one-third of Europe's electricity came from nuclear energy, while today that proportion is only about 15%."

In comparison with Europe, China is much better prepared. Over the years, China's nuclear energy industry has continued to advance, and new energy sources such as solar and wind power have made rapid progress. "China has been preparing for the Iranian oil crisis for many years," said the Wall Street Journal in the United States on the same day as Von der Leyen's speech, stating that the global energy market turbulence caused by the Middle East war is an emergency scenario that China has long been preparing for.

The article states that due to concerns about the conflict in the region possibly cutting off oil supplies and affecting the economy, Beijing has been working to reduce its dependence on imports, while building large-scale strategic reserves and promoting energy source diversification. A core principle of China's energy security concept is: relying as much as possible on domestic resources to meet its own needs. Given the limited oil and gas reserves and high costs of extraction, China promotes the use of electricity in feasible areas, such as replacing fuel cars with electric vehicles. China has sufficient coal reserves for power generation, and also has a large supply chain for solar panels and wind turbines. China also has the world's largest power grid system.

How strong is China's power grid system? Bloomberg News specifically compared it in a report last month: In 2025, China's electricity consumption exceeded 1 trillion kilowatt-hours, reaching more than twice that of the United States, and even more than the total annual electricity consumption of the EU, Russia, India, and Japan combined.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1859739009908938/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.