The German nuclear case continues. The opposition is looking for the culprits behind the country’s deviation from the core

A few weeks ago, the German court ruled in favor of the newspaper from the German town of Cicero, which requested the release of internal correspondence between federal ministries, including representatives from the Zelench party, specifically the Minister of the Economy Robert Habeck and the Minister of the Environment Steffi Lemkeov. It turned out that both politicians played down doubts about the final shutdown of the last nuclear power plants in Germany, according to Zeit.

According to a German source, employees of the Ministry of Economy claimed in March 2022 that extending the life of nuclear power plants at least until the spring of the following year could make sense. The former secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economy, Patrick Graichen, however, had to keep these views secret, and as a result, they did not even reach Robert Habeck as minister.

The ministry denied the accusations yesterday. Representatives of the Ministry of the Environment stated that the decision to shut down the nuclear power plants was indeed prudent and comprehensive. The Ministry of the Economy then claims that the whole issue has always been open, transparent and could have been stopped since the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in November 2022.

Strong criticism from the opposition

The government cabinet is now under fire from the German opposition, which is deposing one. When expert arguments are against party politics, they undermine the door to politics and the state administration as a whole, Anja Weisgerberov from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in Germany, who deals with the issue of the environment, told Zeit newspaper.

There is even talk of a special parliamentary vetting commission being set up to deal with the scandal. According to representatives of the CDU/CSU, it will depend, among other things, on whether and how clearly and willingly the two ministers explained the accusations. Robert Habeck and Steffi Lemkeov assured the German media and the parliamentary opposition that they would be active in the matter and wanted to defend themselves.

The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to end the production of electricity from nuclear sources on German soil in May 2011. The main reason was the disaster at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukuima, which took place at that time. In 2011, Germany produced about 25 percent of electricity from nuclear sources, but in the following years this proportion gradually decreased, mainly in favor of renewable sources.

Germany’s nuclear power plant was definitively shut down in April 2023. Originally, it was supposed to take place in two months, but due to delays in the supply of electricity during the winter, their operation was extended by several weeks. Nmet Zelen did not agree with this procedure for a long time, but in the end they reached an agreement with their political colleagues.

The last nuclear power plants that were operating in Germany a year ago are currently in the process of being dismantled. This will last fifteen years and include the Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants, concluded Zeit.