2024-04-26 14:15:17
After documents were published that reveal details about the nuclear phase-out, the Union is now calling for a committee of inquiry. Meanwhile, Habeck defends himself.
After the meetings of the Bundestag committees for the environment, climate protection and energy, in which Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke were questioned, there are different assessments from the participating politicians. The climate policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Olaf in der Beek, was satisfied with the explanations from Habeck (Greens) in a special session on decision-making before the nuclear phase-out. It is pointless 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.
“And I would also like to say that the way the minister presented it today, it is completely logical how he decided,” explained Beek. At the moment, Habeck cannot be proven to have committed any wrongdoing. The point is that parliamentarians know the basis on which decisions were made. “And I think he’s on the right track by creating trust and transparency here, and we support that.”
There was criticism of Lemke’s appearance. CSU MP Anja Weisgerber said after the meeting: “The minister didn’t really answer our questions and distracted from the topic. She said that there was another note from February 9th, but didn’t submit it. We “We will therefore demand the note of February 9th and reserve the right to take further steps. There are further indications that this examination was not open-ended and was politically controlled.”
Habeck: Fuel elements 2022 “sucked out, nothing works anymore”
Habeck said on Friday morning that he was looking forward to the committee meeting. He referred to the “pressure situation” in spring 2022. He would explain again that at the beginning of the debate in March 2022, nuclear power plant operators said that the fuel elements were “sucked out, there’s nothing left to do.” That was always asked; Even before the start of the war in Ukraine, he and his ministry approached the operators with the question “Is there anything else going on?” He will explain all this again in the committee.
“The documents tell a different story than what was rumored,” said the Green politician. He clarified that it was crucial that he was always able to ask the right questions in the really relevant rounds. These were the meetings with the power plant operators. “This is also documented and can be presented in writing to show that these were also answered.”
“Ensure nuclear safety at all times”
Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) also rejected allegations before a special meeting of the Environment Committee. “My concern is that we can guarantee nuclear safety in our country at all times.”
“Cicero” refers to documents that the magazine received after a legal dispute on the basis of the Environmental Information Act. According to the magazine, experts in the Federal Ministry of Economics were “hardly listened to” and their assessments were “ignored or falsified”.
It’s about the time after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February 2022. At that time, there were still three nuclear power plants (nuclear power plants) online in Germany, which were actually supposed to be shut down at the end of 2022. When gas deliveries from Russia were initially throttled and then stopped in the summer, the federal government decided to extend the operating times of the three nuclear power plants until mid-April 2023.
Union calls for committee of inquiry
After ministry documents became known about the decision to extend the life of German nuclear power plants, CDU politicians are calling for an investigative committee in the Bundestag. The energy policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Mark Helfrich (CDU), spoke in Friday’s “Bild” newspaper of an “act of deception”. This must be “processed by a committee of inquiry”. On Thursday, the Federal Ministries for Economic Affairs and the Environment rejected a report by the magazine “Cicero” that “Green Party networks” had “manipulated” the decision to extend the life of German nuclear power plants.
The chairwoman of the MIT SME Association, Gitta Connemann, said: “The dismantling of the last nuclear power plants must be stopped immediately.” The public has a right to complete information. With a view to the special meeting of the Bundestag Energy Committee on Friday morning, she added that if Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) “does not provide complete clarification there, a special committee is needed due to urgency or a committee of inquiry”.
FDP federal board member Martin Hagen calls on Habeck to resign. “Either Habeck knew about it or he didn’t have his house under control and was betrayed by his own people. In both cases, resignation would be the logical consequence,” Hagen told the newspaper.