EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said Europe’s turn away from nuclear power had been a “strategic mistake”, as soaring oil prices rekindled concerns about the bloc’s energy vulnerability.

Speaking in Paris at a nuclear summit, which aims to boost the use of civilian nuclear energy, the European Commission president endorsed a return to atomic energy, saying the European Union would back investments in “innovative nuclear technologies”.

“It was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emission power,” she said.

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region have upended the world’s energy and transport sectors, virtually halting activity in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

EU officials have said the situation is yet to reach the crisis levels hit after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

But the conflict has rekindled a debate on the bloc’s external dependencies and high energy costs, which European industry has long said hamper competitiveness vis-a-vis Asia and North America.