Even after Chernobyl and the most recent disaster in Fukushima, many Governments in central and eastern Europe remain committed to an expansion of nuclear power. Drawing inspiration from successful campaigns elsewhere, greens and environmentalists are mobilising against these initiatives and are fighting back against nuclear power to promote sustainable energy alternatives.  

In this context, GEF is working in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Stiftung and the Polish Green Institute to strengthen and further europeanise this movement. The first part of this program is a series of seminars in Poland, which will bring anti-nuclear campaigners together with experts on this topic from inside and outside of the country. The next and final seminar will take place Lubiatowo at the end of July.  

A major part of this program will be a visit by 25 anti-nuclear activists from Poland, the Baltic countries and Belarus to Brussels for a study trip by bus to learn more about EU energy policy and meet organisations and individuals who are working in this field. The visit will take place over two days (July 11th and July 12th) and will involve meeting with representatives of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, the European Commission and energy NGOs. 

The participants will depart from Warsaw through Berlin to Brussels in order to meet and support civic and political movements, which fight for nuclear free Europe and support renewable energy sources. The project is conceived both to ensure a European dimension in skills and knowledge transfer and to help the building of strong cooperation networks of actors in the field of green energy.

The trip will start in Warsaw, with a press conference under the auspices of Wanda Nowicka, Vice-Marshal of Sejm. The next stop will be in Berlin, where the participants will meet activists and Green Party members. From Berlin the bus will go to Brussels. 

The Brussels’ part of the trip is conceived as a seminar programme and will include visits to the EU institutions - European Commission and Parliament- in order for participants to better understand “Brussels’ energy politics" and learn more about available tools to influence and engage with EU level policy-making, such as the ECI. Participants will also meet with MEPs from the Greens/EFA Group, as well as other civil society and NGO players involved in energy and climate actions.