Actually, the draft for the planned continued operation of two nuclear power plants should have been through the cabinet long ago. But that hasn’t happened so far. Economics Minister Habeck accuses the coalition partner FDP of a blockade. There is not much time left for clarification.
Berlin (dpa / lby) – Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is urging the FDP to give in in the dispute over the three remaining German nuclear power plants. “If you want the nuclear power plants to be able to produce electricity after December 31, you have to clear the way now,” the Vice Chancellor told Spiegel magazine. Because of the energy crisis, Habeck wants to keep two nuclear power plants operational until spring in the event of power supply bottlenecks.
The FDP, on the other hand, is pushing for all three remaining nuclear power plants to continue operating until 2024 – party leader and finance minister Christian Lindner confirmed this again on Monday. In the course of the nuclear phase-out, it was actually intended that the last German nuclear power plants would be taken off the grid at the end of the year.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, there was an agreement within the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP to bring the draft law on the nuclear power reserve through the cabinet on Monday so that the Bundestag can then discuss it. So far this has not happened.
The Federal Environment Ministry of Steffi Lemke (Greens) also confirmed the blockade by the Ministry of Finance and explained when asked by dpa: “It is true that the BMF (Federal Ministry of Finance) has refused to approve the draft law, despite the understanding that took place last week.”
Economics Minister Habeck criticizes: “You can’t want longer terms and at the same time prevent the nuclear power plants from being able to run.” But that is exactly what is happening, he said with a view to Lindner and the FDP.
Green Party leader Ricarda Lang and other prominent Green Party politicians also put pressure on Tuesday. “We have all the options at hand to ensure security of supply and grid stability in winter,” Lang told dpa in Berlin. This also includes the operational reserve agreed in the coalition. However, the operators urgently need certainty in order to be able to carry out the necessary repairs on the Isar 2 power plant, emphasized Lang.
At the Bavarian Isar 2 power plant, maintenance work is required on a valve so that it can continue to run beyond the end of the year. The FDP must now clear the way for the operational reserve, said Lang. A spokesman for Eon, the parent company of the Isar 2 operator Preussen Elektra, said on request that the operator was still assuming a timely cabinet decision. The brief shutdown of the kiln planned for October 21 for maintenance work is still being planned.
In their criticism of the coalition partner, the Greens also refer to the agreement reached by the traffic light coalition on the so-called defense shield at the end of September. There it says: “We are also now creating the possibility of running the southern German nuclear power plants until spring 2023.” It was a written agreement between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Habeck and Lindner, said Green Party leader Katharina Dröge. “And this proposal was also unanimous in the cabinet.”
The FDP, on the other hand, sees itself unjustly criticized. FDP Vice Johannes Vogel explained with a view to the operational reserve: “The fastest possible timetable proposal from the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy provided for a decision in the Bundestag in the coming week. The coalition factions are able and able to act at any time until the beginning of next week.” At the same time, he once again defended his party’s position of leaving the remaining nuclear reactors connected to the grid longer than previously planned. With a view to the climate, extending the service life is better than having to generate more coal, Vogel explained.
The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg also pointed out this aspect. In an interview with ARD talk show host Sandra Maischberger, which will be broadcast on Wednesday evening and which was available to dpa in advance, Thunberg explained that she thought it was wrong to switch off the nuclear power plants that are still active in Germany and instead rely more on coal power. “If they’re already running, I think it would be a mistake to turn them off and turn to coal,” said the founder of the Fridays for Future movement.
