On 4 April, in Warsaw, the first meeting of our new CEE Nuclear Expert Network (a policy network) was held to consult with Polish officials and experts. The network organizers include:
- From the Center for Eastern Studies (OSW), Agata Agata Łoskot-Strachota, Project coordinator Energy in Europe Project, and Andrzej Sadecki, Head eastern European Department
- From the Polish Economic Institute (PEI), which hosted this meeting, are Adam Juszczak, Nuclear Program, and Kamil Lipiński, Head of the Climate and Energy Team
- And, myself, Global Fellow of Wilson Center, Washington, DC (external, resident in Berlin) and adjunct faculty at Freie Universität-Berlin’s “Berlin European Studies Program“.
Below, I explain: i) Our event, who attended and such, and ii) our other planned 2024 Nuclear Expert Network events for Poland and the 3 Seas Region.
i) 1st “Chatham House” Nuclear Expert Network meeting
Attending were representatives of the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Ministry of Technology and Development, the Prime Minister’s office, National Development Bank of Poland (BGK), Industrial Development Agency (ARP), Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. (PSE – the national electric grid operator or TSO), a consultancy advising the ministry, and others. (See also Kamil Lipinski’s LinkedIn Post’s list below.),
Paweł Śliwowsk, Acting Director of PEI, welcomed all to the event – and kindly thanked me “… for bringing to us the proposal for this meeting…”
Beata Sparażyńska (Nuclear Energy Department, Ministry of Climate and Environment) gave a talk “Polish nuclear policy – opportunities, challenges, international cooperation,” which had four main points (using Deepl translate here).
1. NPP policy in the context of broader EU energy policy
2. Key EU policy areas and initiatives of relevance to NPPs
3. The existing funding opportunities for NPPs under EU instruments
4. The new political context of the energy crisis
We then had a 90+ minutes of quite lively discussion (no limits on speakers’ times). This is being written up, under the Chatham House Rule.
Future Plans:
Starting last year, my OSW and PEI colleagues and I agreed to work together to build this network. We plan to hold three “Chatham House-type consultative meetings” this year, and another on the status of nuclear energy within the EU under the new Commission coming after this June’s elections.
- Both the 4 April meeting and another planned for May are with Polish officials and experts working on nuclear energy issues.. The third meeting, likely in June, will be similar, but with people from across the EU’s larger CEE region, including from Baltic and Balkan member states per the “3 Seas Region” concept.
- And, In (approx.) September, I am asked to bring together authoritative voices of both the pro- and anti-nuclear sides in the European Union at a conference, which will likely be in Brussels. More anon.
Lastly, I cannot end without adding the big nuclear-related news in Warsaw on the day before our event, on 3 April. This was the launch of the joint DoE and Polish Ministry of Environment and Climate Regional Clean Energy Training Center Launches in Poland. This is a tremendous boost to the new Polish nuclear sector.
Future posts here will follow developments of the nuclear renaissance in Poland and the 3 Seas Region.
Here is Kamil Lipinwki’s LinkedIn post on our 4 April event
Poland plans to build nuclear capacity (6-9 GWe), but why? What are, and should be, the precise long-term goals and targets of Polish Nuclear Strategy? What about the CEE nuclear policy goals? What are our limitations? How can the new EC and Polish presidency strengthen the EU nuclear agenda? Should a low emission target replace the RES target in the EU as more realistic and adequate? Is CfD enough for nuclear to blossom? What role should EU funds, Member State state aid, and MDBs play in nuclear development in Poland, CEE, and the EU? How can we avoid RES-Nuclear tensions within the EU energy policy, resulting in reserve toward the Nuclear world in the EU legal acts?
Many thanks to Agata Loskot-Strachota Andrzej Sadecki Krzysztof Dębiec Robert Paprocki Wojciech Burkiewicz Joanna Smolik Alice Neffe Maciej LipkaEwa CzyżewskaŁukasz Sawicki Beata Sprażyńska Krzysztof Mech Tomasz R. Nowacki dr Marcin Kaminski Thomas O’Donnell, PhD Paweł Śliwowski Marcelina Pilszyk and Adam Juszczak and others for a fruitful debate on the Polish nuclear agenda, organized by Polski Instytut Ekonomiczny and OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich / Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland. Looking forward to follow-ups in the future!
The Global Barrel 