In the Bundestag debate on a possible committee of inquiry into political decisions before the final nuclear phase-out in 2023, representatives of the traffic light coalition and the opposition have made accusations against each other.
There is a suspicion that the public and the Bundestag were deceived, said the parliamentary manager of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Patrick Schnieder (CDU), on Friday in Berlin. “To date, there have been no satisfactory answers to the questions posed.” Andreas Lenz of the CSU explained: “Party politics, party logic, came before the well-being of the country.” CDU MP Steffen Bilger was even more specific: “We have to assume that there were grievances and misconduct, namely on the part of Robert Habeck and Steffi Lemke. And this is what this committee of inquiry is supposed to investigate.”
The Union suspects Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (both Greens) of not having examined the possible continued operation of the last three German nuclear power plants impartially. The two are accused of having suppressed internal concerns, which both ministries deny.
After the attack by Germany’s most important gas supplier Russia on Ukraine in February 2022, a debate broke out about whether the nuclear phase-out, originally planned for the turn of the year, should actually be implemented. In the end, the operating life of two nuclear power plants was extended by three months.
SPD MP Jakob Blankenburg accused the Union: “What you are after is opinion-making, is election campaigning.”
Nina Scheer, the climate protection and energy policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, listed the arguments against continued operation. She recalled the safety review that had already expired at the time and accused the Union of a zigzag course. The Union had once initiated the nuclear phase-out under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). In the end, a political decision was made, said Scheer.
The First Parliamentary Secretary of the Green Party, Irene Mihalic, said of her party’s stance: “No thanks to nuclear power, that is part of our DNA.” She also referred to expiring permits and unresolved questions about the storage of nuclear waste. “It is a matter of course in a democracy that Green ministers are talking about what is or is not acceptable in such an emergency.”
The FDP, on the other hand, supported the investigative committee. The group’s energy policy spokesman, Michael Kruse, recalled the sharp rise in gas prices in 2022. Russia had started an energy war against Europe long before the attack on Ukraine. Kruse recalled that the FDP had vehemently demanded that German nuclear power plants remain in operation for longer. However, the decision to do so came too late; signals were needed to calm the markets. He argued that the decisions surrounding the construction of the Russian gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 should also be dealt with in the investigative committee.
AfD MP Rainer Kraft accused the traffic light government of destroying one of the nation’s “greatest energy policy treasures” by phasing out nuclear power.
The Union’s motion for a committee of inquiry was referred to the relevant committees by a majority. The CDU and CSU had called for an immediate vote on the matter, but were not successful. According to Article 44 of the Basic Law, a quarter of the members of the Bundestag are required to set up a committee of inquiry. This would currently be 184 MPs. The Union faction, as the largest opposition force in the Bundestag, can therefore convene such a body with its 195 MPs on its own. The exact implementation will, however, be decided by majority.
