Bundestag approves U-committee on nuclear phase-out

Have Economy Minister Habeck and Environment Minister Lemke examined the continuation of the operation of German nuclear power plants without a clear result? That's what the Union is asking for with its request for an investigation. This can now begin.

The German Bundestag has approved the setting up of an investigative committee on Germany's nuclear exit. For the corresponding motion of the Union faction, the MPs from the CDU/CSU and the AfD voted in favor in the afternoon. With this approval, the necessary approval of at least one quarter of the members of the German Bundestag for the setting up of an investigative committee was achieved. The committee can therefore, as planned, hold its constituent meeting. Bundestag President Baerbel Bas will open the first public session in the evening.

The Union faction in the Bundestag had requested the investigative committee to shed more light on allegations in connection with the decisions on the continuation of operation of German nuclear power plants. In focus are the two Federal Ministers for Climate and Environment, Robert Habeck and Steffi Lemke.

The Union accuses them of not examining the continuation of nuclear power plant operations "without a clear result" and "impartially". It's about nothing less than the question of whether the public was deceived in the decision to shut down the last three nuclear power plants," said CSU Bundestag MP and energy policy expert Andreas Lenz. His faction will demand the necessary transparency in the processing and clarify the responsibilities for the events surrounding the nuclear exit. Lenz is one of the future committee members.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said she would "take a very relaxed approach" towards the committee. "Setting up investigative committees is the right of the opposition," she emphasized. Her government had "answered all questions of the parliament and the public transparently from the beginning." The facts are on the table, Lemke said.

Germany had left nuclear energy use by mid-April 2023. The last three reactors were permanently shut down. Before that, the federal government had decided due to the energy crisis following Russia's attack on Ukraine to keep them running for a few more months.

Originally, the nuclear exit was supposed to be completed by December 31, 2022. The duration of the continued operation of the power plants and the final decision on the nuclear exit had caused heated debates and disputes both within the government and in the opposition.

The now passed investigative committee is, besides the committee on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, the second such committee in this legislative period. Investigative committees are considered the "sharpest weapon of the opposition". To set them up, at least one quarter of all members of the Bundestag must agree. With 195 of a total of 733 members of the Bundestag, the Union would have met the requirement even without the support of AfD members.

The investigation committee, approved by the German Bundestag in Berlin, will focus on the Union's accusations against Economy Minister Habeck and Environment Minister Lemke, alleging that they failed to examine the continuation of German nuclear power plant operations impartially.
The nuclear phase-out, a contentious topic in German politics, has led to the establishment of the investigation committee in Berlin, with a focus on the last few months of operation for the remaining nuclear power plants before their permanent shutdown.
The Union faction in Berlin, led by energy policy expert Andreas Lenz, expects the investigation committee to provide transparency in the processing of the nuclear power plant situation and clarify the roles and responsibilities associated with the nuclear exit decision.