ROUNDUP: Belgium postpones nuclear phase-out – concerns in Germany

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke regretted Belgium’s decision to postpone the nuclear phase-out and to extend the lifespan of two nuclear reactors by ten years. At the same time, it confirmed the general turning away from nuclear energy in Germany. The arguments for and against longer maturities have been thoroughly weighed up in the past few weeks, the Greens politician told the German Press Agency on Saturday. “The result was clear: a small contribution to energy supply would be opposed to major economic, legal and safety risks. That would be neither sensible nor justifiable.”

The Belgian government announced on Friday evening that block 3 of the Tihange nuclear power plant near the German border and block 4 of the Doel power plant near Antwerp should run ten years longer – until at least the end of 2035. Belgium also wants to postpone the nuclear phase-out in view of the Ukraine war and recently sharply increased energy prices guarantee its energy security. The planned runtime extension still has to be negotiated with the operator Engie (Engie (ex GDF Suez)).

In Germany, too, a nuclear power plant runtime extension had recently been discussed again. The war in Ukraine and the sharp rise in gas prices have shown how dependent Europe is on fossil fuels – especially Russia. Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had made it clear, however, that the preparations for shutting down the last three nuclear power plants in Germany by the end of the year were already too far advanced to keep them in operation longer.

Minister Lemke said: “Especially in a time of crisis like this, I don’t think an extension of the service life is justifiable for security reasons. It can even make us more vulnerable.” The great worldwide concern about the safety of nuclear power plants in the Ukraine makes everyone aware of the potential extent of damage from nuclear power plants. “We are in a situation in which we have to make our energy supply crisis-proof very quickly. We are doing this by accelerating the expansion of renewable energies.”

Following Belgium’s announcement that it would postpone the phase-out of nuclear power by ten years, North Rhine-Westphalia expressed safety concerns and called for the plants to be inspected intensively. The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy announced on Saturday that it was a sovereign decision of each state as to how it wanted to cover its electricity requirements. “Of course, in the interests of EU citizens, the security requirements and thus also the interests of our European neighbors must be taken into account.”

“In order to regain lost trust in the safety of the plants, which will then be 50 years old at the end, we will press for transparency in the decision, a comprehensive cross-border environmental impact assessment and strict standards for the comprehensive safety check,” the ministry said in Dsseldorf. North Rhine-Westphalia has long criticized the criminal reactors in Belgium. The city of Aachen and the federal government had demanded that the reactors be shut down./dot/sam/bg/DP/stk