11 March 2026 – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has described Europe’s move away from nuclear power as a “strategic mistake.” Has the time finally come for logic to replace ideology from Brussels? Meanwhile, base metals continue to show resilience and stability.
Base Metals Remain Stable and Resilient
Despite ongoing challenges in global markets resulting from the continuing conflict in the Middle East, base metals have developed with remarkable stability in recent weeks.
Copper has maintained its price level of roughly USD 13,000 per tonne over the past four weeks. Nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange rose by around 1.9% compared with the previous month. Aluminium, most affected by current geopolitical developments, climbed by nearly 10%.
Prices for tin (+4.6%) and zinc (±0%) reinforce this trend, while lead was the only metal to decline, falling about 1.7% compared with February.
Von der Leyen: Phasing Out Nuclear Power Was a Strategic Mistake
“This reduction in the share of nuclear was a choice, I believe that it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emissions power.”
Source: Speech by President von der Leyen at the Nuclear Energy Summit, 10 March 2026
Although Ursula von der Leyen did not acknowledge her own role in steering EU policy away from nuclear energy during her speech at the Nuclear Energy Summit 2026, it was nevertheless notable that the Commission President now openly described the decision as a “strategic mistake” for Europe.
It is equally notable that such strategic errors tend to be recognised only after thousands of companies and jobs have already been lost – even though the Commission had previously been warned repeatedly and explicitly.
EU Insolvency Index at Record Levels
The data reflecting these developments are clearly visible in Brussels. A look at the European insolvency index shows that it stood 86.5 points higher in 2025 than in 2021.
This is the tangible result of the strategic errors that von der Leyen so casually referred to as a “choice.”
When Will Logic Replace Brussels Ideology?
Extreme bureaucracy, high energy costs, the European Green Deal, the CO2 tax CBAM, and now also steel tariffs and quotas – all of these represent strategic errors of the first and second von der Leyen Commissions.
The question therefore remains: when will logic finally replace the ideology emanating from Brussels’ ivory tower? How many more companies and jobs must be destroyed before Europe makes the “choice” to address what many now see as the Union’s central problem and start anew?
Von der Leyen Leaves Questions Unanswered
Who will compensate European companies for the loss of their competitiveness? Who will pay for the high electricity costs borne by European taxpayers? And most importantly: how does the Commission President intend to correct this error quickly? As so often, these questions remain unanswered by Ursula von der Leyen.
It will also be interesting to see how many permits for the construction of “cutting-edge” nuclear power plants are actually granted in 2026 following this speech.
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