“The implementation of the strategic ‘Polish Atom’ programme under the current coalition has become one long chain of delays and failures, while the implementation schedule exists only on paper…” former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on X.
Morawiecki argues that “before December 2023, the PiS government left the nuclear programme ahead of its original schedule, for the first power plant in Lubiatowo-Kopalino, the technology and contractor had already been selected (Westinghouse and Bechtel), a contract for design work had been signed, location and environmental reports were ready, pre-notification applications had been sent to Brussels, financing talks were progressing according to schedule, and on-site works were being consistently carried out.”
He added that “advanced preparations for the construction of a second power plant and SMRs were also underway in parallel.” “Today, under Tusk’s government, we have lost more than two years… and are witnessing yet more examples of the ‘it-can’t-be-done’ mentality in Poland’s nuclear programme,” he assessed.
Delays and Stagnation
“Instead of the promised finalisation of the key EPC agreement with the Americans by the end of June, we are facing yet more months of delay. The government is extending the interim EDA agreement until the end of the year because negotiations have stalled over liability limits and the governing law for the contract. This is not ‘careful negotiating’ but incompetence and a lack of strategy,”
the former prime minister stated.
The politician stressed that the schedule for Poland’s nuclear energy programme “is collapsing before our eyes.” “The construction permit has been pushed back by at least two years. Talking about the first nuclear concrete in 2028 is pure fantasy, even PEJ employees no longer believe it. Every month of delay today means a risk of energy shortages tomorrow and enormous future costs for the economy,” he assessed.
The former prime minister further recalled that “the draft update of the nuclear programme (PPEJ) was published in March 2025.” “More than a year has passed, and the document still has not been adopted; silence prevails within the ministry. Where is the promised ‘roadmap’ for small modular reactors (SMRs)? It was supposed to appear in autumn 2025, then by the end of the year, and today it still does not exist. There has also been no progress whatsoever on a new waste storage facility. This stagnation is a direct path to crisis,” he wrote.
The PiS deputy leader also pointed to “concerning signals regarding a lack of project integration.” “Tusk’s government has replaced concrete milestones with political PR and is waiting for a ‘convenient moment’ to sign the construction contract. Polish construction companies fear they will be pushed into the simplest tasks instead of building unique expertise,” he stated.
“Further delays in the construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant amount to the systematic freezing of a strategic investment crucial to Poland’s energy security for decades to come. Every year of delay means hundreds of millions of PLN in losses for taxpayers, higher electricity bills, and greater dependence on imports. We handed them projects already in motion. They received completed documentation, selected locations, partners, and a schedule. Today, all we have are paper tables and more promises,”
he concluded.