In general, moves towards a withdrawal from nuclear in certain European Community countries have been due to party political pressures and have not been a response to public opposition to nuclear. For instance in Sweden, the government has decided to phase out nuclear power, though a recent opinion poll issued in June 2008, commissioned by the Swedish Nuclear Safety and Training Centre (KSU), and conducted by polling organisation TEMO shows that public support to continue using nuclear power remains strong at 82%. In fact, public opinion polls show that there is no widespread opposition to nuclear in most European countries. Figures consistently indicate that the use of nuclear power does not come high on the list of most people's main worries. Their main concerns focus on other issues, such as crime and financial problems. Most surveys show that members of the public actually adopt quite a practical and realistic attitude when it comes to energy issues. Polls also indicate that anti-nuclear feeling is actually much lower than most people tend to assume. In Finland and in France, there is a strong body of opinion in favour of nuclear, and in most of the new member states that use nuclear such as the Czech Republic, public support is quite strong.

Studies on perception of nuclear energy conducted by sociologists also provide interesting information about what really shapes public opinion. For instance the study on nuclear waste conducted by a French sociologist, M. d'Iribarne, emphasizes that nuclear conveys insensible fears due to the lifetime of radioactive waste and to the memory of accidents such as Chernobyl. However the French believe in the progress of science and are convinced that a suitable solution to manage radioactive waste will be found.