Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) defended his approach to the question of phasing out nuclear power. At a special meeting of the Energy Committee on Friday, he said he always felt well informed by his ministry. All important questions were discussed before the decision. He also discussed the question of continuing to operate the nuclear power plants in order to save gas with the power plant operators, even though he was not presented with a corresponding paper from his company at the time. He only found out about this from the media. But he wanted to make all documents available to the committee. Habeck received support from MPs from the Greens, the SPD and the Left. The Union, in turn, is calling for an investigative committee in which allegations that the population was lied to during the nuclear phase-out can be clarified. Habeck said after the committee meeting that he was relaxed about a possible investigative committee.
The FDP parliamentary group’s climate policy spokesman, Olaf in der Beek, was satisfied with Habeck’s explanations. It makes no sense “to philosophize about any resignations,” said the MP on Friday morning in Berlin after a short-term meeting of the Committee for Climate Protection and Energy.
The special meeting of the committee was called because the Union von Habeck demanded immediate clarification about the circumstances surrounding the decision to phase out nuclear power in 2023. “The old suspicion is confirmed: Parliament and the population were lied to when nuclear power was phased out,” wrote the Parliamentary Managing Director of the Union parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, on Platform X on Thursday. “Habeck should immediately put all the files on the shutdown of the nuclear power plant on the table place. Otherwise there is a risk of repercussions.”
Union also threatens Lemke with a U-committee
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) also rejected allegations before a special meeting of the Environment Committee. “My concern is that we can ensure nuclear safety in our country at all times,” she said. “It was a good committee meeting that the Environment Committee had here today. I emphasized that it is good and important to create transparency in the parliamentary space about what is currently being discussed publicly,” said Lemke after the meeting. She confirmed that further questions would be answered and documents submitted to the committee.
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However, representatives of the Union faction criticized Lemke’s answers as insufficient. “We asked questions. The answers were inadequate,” said deputy Union parliamentary group leader Steffen Bilger (CDU). However, the minister promised to answer further questions in writing and to submit all documents. “We will look at them very closely and derive our assessment from them, including regarding further steps.”
When asked about a possible investigative committee, Bilger said: “All options that we as the opposition have are available.” But first they want to wait for the promised answers and documents. “And if any questions arise from this, we expressly reserve the right to take further steps.”
How safe was continued operation?
The trigger is that the magazine “Cicero” sued for the publication of files on the nuclear phase-out from 2022 and 2023. The files are intended to give the impression that assessments by the specialist level within the Ministry of the Environment and Economic Affairs were changed in such a way that continued operation of the reactors for a longer period appeared to be impossible – even though experts had declared it possible from a safety perspective. According to “Cicero”, Habeck did not get the original version of the expert note on the table.
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In 2022, in view of the energy crisis, the traffic light government decided after a long debate to shut down the last three nuclear power plants in mid-April 2023. This means that operations have been extended by a few months compared to the previously set shutdown date of the end of 2022. This was preceded by a dispute between the Greens and the FDP, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz defused by supporting the shutdown – but with this transition period.
Electricity prices have fallen
The opposition Union had criticized the decision and announced that it wanted to keep the option of nuclear power plants open if it participated in the government. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber described Habeck as economics minister as no longer acceptable. “Either he lied or he didn’t have his own ideology ministry under control,” he told “Focus online”.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, however, emphasized that Habeck himself had initially proposed an operational reserve for the nuclear power plant in the summer of 2022, but ultimately, after weighing up the arguments, extended operation was chosen until April 2023. The energy supply is secure and electricity prices have fallen after the shutdown.
Wagenknecht wants a committee of inquiry
The party founder of the alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) even brings an investigative committee into play. “As long as the allegations that the security of the energy supply was actively harmed are not dispelled, a committee of inquiry should not be taboo,” said Sahra Wagenknecht in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ). The BSW, like the partly right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD), is committed to importing Russian gas again. This would at least indirectly finance Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law.
The Environment Ministry, which is responsible for reactor safety, pointed out that the Union and the FDP had decided to phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022. However, the two ministries for economics and the environment, led by the Greens, had examined a longer term: “Within the framework of a clear legal situation, this examination was carried out carefully and exclusively in a fact-oriented manner – of course, important safety issues had to be taken into account by the nuclear regulator,” the Environment Ministry also explained to Blick on the discussions with the nuclear power plant operators. “In March 2022, the operators demonstrably attached similar importance to these safety issues as the Ministry of the Environment.”