Nuclear phase-out: was right, was wrong

21.02.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The Bundestag's committee of inquiry into the nuclear phase-out has presented its final report. The assessment of the phase-out by the parliamentary groups differs.

The German Bundestag's committee of inquiry into the nuclear phase-out has published its final report. The Bundestag administration has sent out a communication on the presentation of the 446-page document.

SPD: phase-out is still the right thing to do

The assessments of the parliamentary groups differ in the final report. While the SPD and the Greens see the decision to phase out nuclear power confirmed, the CDU/CSU and AfD criticize the Federal Government. The FDP parliamentary group, which was part of the traffic light government as a coalition partner at the time, also joined the criticism in the final report.

In the final report, the SPD parliamentary group emphasized that the German government's decision to adhere to the nuclear phase-out was correct from today's perspective. "From an economic perspective in particular, the committee was unable to come up with a viable justification for a longer lifetime extension," the report states. The decision by Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to limit the operation of the last three nuclear power plants in the winter of 2022/23 was a sensible measure to secure the energy supply.

CDU/CSU: No open-ended examination took place

According to the SPD, the CDU/CSU initiated the committee of inquiry because they saw a scandal in the attitude of Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck (Greens). Habeck had categorically rejected the continued operation of the power plants during the energy crisis and had not carried out an open-ended investigation. "This impression has been confirmed," states the SPD, but emphasizes that no new findings have been made that would have justified a committee of inquiry.
In terms of content, the CDU/CSU criticized the fact that an open-ended examination of the continued operation of the nuclear power plants had never taken place. The assertion that a lifetime extension was impossible from a safety and legal point of view was untenable. The frequently mentioned Periodic Safety Review (PSR) would not have prevented this and fuel elements could have been procured without Russian involvement. The parliamentary group also criticized the fact that the German government had obstructed the committee's work, meaning that the investigation mandate was "impossible to fulfil". For example, files had only been provided incompletely. The Ministry of Economic Affairs in particular had filtered internal messages and emails before handing them over. There is considerable doubt that all relevant documents were provided.

Greens: nuclear phase-out right and responsible

Alliance 90/The Greens come to the opposite conclusion. The decision to shut down the plant was a sensible safety measure. In principle, the report shows that the nuclear phase-out was correct and responsible. The CDU/CSU had used the committee to sow doubts about the government's energy policy by populist means.

FDP: The public was deceived

The FDP parliamentary group accuses the federal government of misleading the public. An open-ended review promised by Robert Habeck never took place. Political guidelines had dominated within the ministries, which had deliberately suppressed arguments in favor of a lifetime extension.

AfD: Exit motivated by ideology

The AfD also sees ideological reasons as the government's main motivation. The selection of arguments was deliberately geared towards an anti-nuclear decision. Technical expertise was not sufficiently taken into account.

The report of the committee of inquiry into the nuclear phase-out can be downloaded from the Bundestag website.

Author: Stefan Sagmeister