Continued operation of nuclear power plants: Green faction leadership recommends approval

Status: 10/18/2022 2:22 p.m

Despite major reservations, the top of the Greens parliamentary group wants to follow Chancellor Scholz’s word of power on the continued operation of the nuclear power plant. Group leader Haßelmann said she would recommend MPs to approve it despite the criticism.

The Greens parliamentary group should support the compromise on the longer use of the three remaining German nuclear power plants. “We will recommend that we follow the suggestion,” said co-group leader Britta Haßelmann said in Berlin that there would be consultations. An intensive debate and also critical voices can be expected at the parliamentary group meeting in the afternoon. However, Haßelmann also made it clear that in the end she was counting on a majority for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision.

“It’s a good thing that the April 2023 nuclear phase-out is binding”

It is “now ensured that the nuclear phase-out will be completely over by April 15 at the latest”. The nuclear phase-out is “irreversible”. The Chancellor’s decision means: “No new fuel elements will be purchased.” That was “good and important,” emphasized Hasselmann.

The Green MPs should “follow the Chancellor’s suggestion, even if we know that the Emsland nuclear power plant is technically not necessary in this case”. Because then you can now concentrate again on “how the question of security of supply, grid stability, the expansion of renewable energies, energy saving and efficiency can be dealt with,” said Hasselmann.

According to Haßelmann, the Chancellor’s decision does not necessarily mean that all three nuclear power plants will run until April 15th. According to their findings, the fuel rods in the Emsland nuclear power plant would probably last until February, said the parliamentary group leader. However, she assumes that with Scholz’s decision, no operation will be possible beyond April 15 and no new fuel rods will be procured. In Haßelmann’s opinion, it is unclear whether the high-performance operation announced by Scholz means actual stretching operation or just standby standby.

criticism is expected

She and her co-chair Katharina Dröge had previously announced that they would advise the parliamentary group on how to “deal with the Chancellor’s decision”. Haßelmann said there had been no negotiations with the Greens before the chancellor’s decision. “As Chancellor, Olaf Scholz made this decision within the framework of his directive competence,” she said. Within the coalition, the situation was gone.

The Greens do not feel bound by the Chancellor’s authority to issue guidelines, nor does Parliament as a whole. A guideline competence is only exercised towards the federal government, said Hasselmann. She assumes that the federal government will now present a draft law.

Habeck and the party leadership were also willing to compromise

Economics Minister Robert Habeck had previously said that he thought the Greens would remain loyal to the government. “Germany and Europe are in a serious crisis,” said Habeck in an interview with the daily topics. “Putting the government at risk in this situation doesn’t seem reasonable to me at all. That can’t actually happen,” emphasized the Green politician.

Green party leader Ricarda Lang had announced further talks, but also pointed out that the main concerns of the Greens in the debate had been met with the compromise. Its co-chairman Omid Nouripour emphasized that he did not believe in continuing to run the Emsland nuclear power plant. Nevertheless, Scholz’s decision is no reason to “trigger a major discussion crisis”.

Greens in Lower Saxony upset

The Green Youth expressed itself differently. “That’s Basta politics, and we don’t need it,” said the co-head of the youth organization, Timon Dzienus, the dpa news agency. “We need a debate in the Bundestag on the subject.” The Greens parliamentary group in Lower Saxony called the Chancellor’s decision unnecessary, wrong and “highly irritating”. Julia Willie Hamburg and Christian Meyer explained that it had no technical basis and blocked the expansion and use of renewable energies. The particularly controversial Emsland nuclear power plant is located in Lower Saxony.

The Green member of the Bundestag Jürgen Trittin also expressed sharp criticism. “If agreements that have been made are not kept by the FDP, again and again, and the chancellor then tries to enforce the breach of these agreements with a word of authority,” then the foundations of trusting cooperation in this coalition are “exposed to an extreme stress test,” he said the former Federal Minister for the Environment on Deutschlandfunk.

Compromise solution for Greens and FDP

On Monday, Scholz declared the day-long dispute within the traffic light coalition to be over with a clear announcement. The Chancellor instructed the responsible ministers to make legislative proposals so that the three nuclear power plants Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland can continue to operate beyond the end of the year until April 15, 2023 at the latest. A letter from Scholz states that high-performance operation should be made possible.

At a party congress over the weekend, the Greens decided to support so-called stretching operations for the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 kilns until mid-April 2023 if necessary. The FDP had called for the third nuclear power plant in Emsland to be kept connected to the grid and for all three reactors to run until 2024. If necessary, nuclear power plants that have already been shut down should be reactivated.

Groups discuss nuclear power word

Martin Polansky, ARD Berlin, 10/18/2022 3:22 p.m

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