The continued operation of the nuclear power plants that we still have in Germany, and which are among the safest in the world, is therefore exclusively in the hands of the federal government. We would be completely crazy not to take this step now, writes Friedrich Merz.
Dear FOCUS Online readers,
there is no need to panic. But there is an urgent need for action in view of possible energy supply bottlenecks in the fall – in summer despite the parliamentary holidays.
Markus Söder and I visited the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Landshut this week. The plant management gave us a look inside this reactor. With Neckarwestheim in Baden-Württemberg and the Emsland nuclear power plant in Lower Saxony, there are two more modern nuclear power plants connected to the grid in Germany, which safely and reliably generate electricity for around 10 million households throughout Germany. According to current planning, these three power plants are to cease operations at the end of the year.
At the latest with the Kremlin’s purely politically motivated reduction in the amount of gas that has been delivered to Germany from Russia since the attack on Ukraine, we have to put the energy supply on a new footing. All options belong on the table, and that includes nuclear energy. To put it bluntly: We would be completely crazy if, in view of this situation, we were to shut down the three nuclear power plants that are still in operation as planned.
Technically, personally and legally, continued operation is possible. The TÜV confirmed this in a very extensive and detailed report from the technical side. According to their own information, the operators are able to provide the necessary personnel even over the turn of the year, highly qualified employees who have been fulfilling their tasks at the highest level and responsibly for decades.
The legislature would have to create the legal basis for continued operation by amending the Atomic Energy Act. And if operation should be possible beyond the so-called “extended operation”, and there is a lot to be said for it, then new fuel rods for the nuclear power plants would have to be ordered now, in August 2022.
The continued operation of the nuclear power plants that we still have in Germany, and which are among the best and safest in the whole world, is therefore exclusively in the hands of politicians, specifically: the German government.
It’s nice to hear from the Federal Chancellor that he can “imagine” continuing operations. But what follows from his imagination? Is there a cabinet decision? Is there a government draft? Is there an order to order new fuel rods?
The operators of the systems are still geared towards ending operations by December 31, 2022. If the summer goes by without a fundamental political decision, then it will be too late in the fall, at least for proper continued operation throughout the next year. But we should and must make this possible in order to avoid bottlenecks and possible blackouts in the electricity sector.
We are once again making the offer to the federal government to hold a special session of the Bundestag during the summer holidays in order to create the legal basis for the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants. Electricity is still generated from gas-fired power plants. The coal-fired power plants would also have had to be ramped up much more quickly in order to at least save gas when generating electricity.
The three nuclear power plants could make their own contribution to the security of supply in our country. It would be inexplicable to our own population if these power plants were to be shut down now. We will certainly not be able to demand European solidarity if we are the only country in Europe to damage ourselves in this way. The federal government must act, and act very soon, before it is too late on this issue.
I wish you a nice weekend!
Yours Friedrich Merz
Friedrich Merz is a lawyer and politician (CDU). From 1989 to 1994 he was a member of the European Parliament and from 1994 to 2009 of the German Bundestag. There he was chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group from 2000 to 2002. In 2018, Merz ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the CDU, just like in 2021. Only at the third attempt was he elected party leader at the CDU party conference on January 22, 2022. Now Merz is again a member of parliament and chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
In his “Mail von Merz” the CDU politician analyzes and comments on current political developments in Germany and beyond for the readers of FOCUS Online.
