CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group Accepts Agreement on Nuclear Power Plant Extension
Continuation until April 2023
After a long negotiation phase, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group has accepted the compromise on the planned extension of the running time of German nuclear power plants. The agreement had previously been reached between the federal government and the energy companies. Accordingly, the three remaining nuclear power plants are to continue operating until April 15, 2023. This is intended to cushion the effects of the energy crisis and the impending gas shortage in winter.
CDU leadership agrees to compromise
After the CDU leadership agreed to the compromise on Wednesday evening, the parliamentary group followed suit on Thursday. The parliamentary group leader, Friedrich Merz, spoke of a "difficult decision" in view of the worsening energy crisis. However, he emphasized that the decision was made "in the national interest." A large majority of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group supported the decision. However, there were also dissenting voices. Some members of the parliamentary group rejected the planned extension of the nuclear power plant's operating lives and called for a faster expansion of renewable energies instead.
Sharp criticism from the opposition
The opposition sharply criticized the decision of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The leader of the Greens parliamentary group, Anton Hofreiter, spoke of a "capitulation to the energy lobby." The Left parliamentary group leader, Amira Mohamed Ali, accused the CDU/CSU of "gambling with the safety of the population." The SPD parliamentary group leader, Rolf Mützenich, emphasized that he would have preferred a faster expansion of renewable energies. However, he also supported the compromise in view of the energy crisis.
Nuclear power plants should actually be shut down at the end of the year
According to the Atomic Energy Act, the three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany were actually to be shut down at the end of the year. However, the federal government and the energy companies have agreed to extend the operating lives of the Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants due to the energy crisis. The prerequisite for this is that the nuclear power plants pass a new safety test. The results of this stress test are expected at the beginning of next week.
Power plant operators want to continue operating beyond April 2023
The energy companies are now calling for the nuclear power plants to be allowed to continue operating beyond April 2023. RWE CEO Markus Krebber told the Handelsblatt newspaper that the nuclear power plants should continue to operate "as long as they are safe and necessary." Eon CEO Leonhard Birnbaum also spoke out in favor of a longer operating life for the nuclear power plants. However, the federal government has so far rejected this demand. The nuclear power plants are to be shut down as planned in April 2023.
