Energy - Energy Minister calls for end to nuclear deal with Russia
Lower Saxony's Energy Minister Christian Meyer is calling for an end to the ongoing nuclear deals with Russia despite the war in Ukraine. "Business with Putin should be ended, and that also and especially applies to the nuclear sector," the Green politician told the German Press Agency on Thursday. In view of Putin's "brutal energy war against Europe", he considers it politically fatal to consolidate these relationships through joint ventures or Russian shareholdings.
The background to the appeal is that the company Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF) wants to modify its fuel element factory in Lingen so that fuel elements for Eastern European nuclear power plants of Soviet design can also be manufactured there in future. This should make power plants in Eastern Europe less dependent on supplies from Russia. However, ANF's parent company Framatome has entered into a joint venture with a subsidiary of the Russian nuclear group Rosatom in France for this purpose, according to the Lower Saxony Ministry of Energy.
An official publication in the Federal Gazette states that ANF had already applied for permission to modify its plant in Lingen accordingly on March 10, 2022, a good two and a half weeks after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Lower Saxony Ministry is now examining this application on behalf of the federal government.
From January 4, there will also be a public participation process at the instigation of Minister Meyer, the ministry announced. ANF's application and the associated documents will therefore be available for inspection in the town of Lingen, at the Ministry of Energy in Hanover and online until the beginning of March. Opponents of nuclear power in the region had already called for this in the spring.
The ministry emphasized that all questions of external and internal security as well as cooperation with Russia would play a role in the decision-making process."Lower Saxony will not accept any discounts, particularly on safety issues, and all links with Russia must be disclosed and answered by the operator," said Energy Minister Meyer.
ANF is a subsidiary of the French group Framatome. Its cooperation with Russia is also viewed critically by the federal government. "It is a necessary consequence of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine to reduce dependencies on Russia. The fact that Framatome is intensifying its cooperation with the Russian state-owned company Rosatom is therefore completely the wrong approach from the point of view of the Federal Ministry for the Environment," said a spokesperson for the ministry.
State Ministry on the fuel element factory in Lingen Federal Gazette: Information from the State of Lower Saxony on the announcement
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- The nuclear fuel element factory in Lingen, located in Lower Saxony, is seeking approval to modify its operations to produce fuel elements for nuclear power plants in Eastern Europe, which have a Soviet design.
- Green politician and Lower Saxony's Energy Minister Christian Meyer has vocalized his opposition to continuing nuclear business deals with Russia, citing Putin's "brutal energy war against Europe."
- The Lower Saxony Ministry of Energy is currently scrutinizing ANF's application to modify the factory, which was submitted on March 10, 2022, just over two and a half weeks after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Minister Meyer has initiated a public participation process, set to commence on January 4, allowing for inspection of ANF's application and related documents in Lingen, Hanover, and online.
- The decision-making process will take into account questions of external and internal security and cooperation with Russia, with Lower Saxony vowing to maintain firm safety standards and transparency in its dealings with Russia.
- Framatome, ANF's parent company, has faced criticism from the federal government for entering into a joint venture with a Rosatom subsidiary, as reducing dependencies on Russia has become a necessity after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Opponents of nuclear power in the region had previously called for a public participation process, which will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their concerns and contribute to the decision-making process.
- The German Press Agency reported that Lower Saxony's Energy Minister is advocating for the termination of nuclear business deals with Russia, considering it politically damaging to maintain relationships through joint ventures or Russian shareholdings, especially given Putin's aggressive energy tactics towards Europe.
Source: www.stern.de
