Merz says Germany won't join EU return to nuclear energy
German leader rejects European Commission's push for nuclear power revival after country shut down final reactor in 2023.
7:33 PM
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the transition away from nuclear energy undertaken by some EU countries as a "strategic mistake" at a nuclear summit near Paris earlier this week. She characterized nuclear power as a "reliable, affordable source of low-emission electricity" and announced new EU financial assistance for nuclear power plants.
Germany, which switched off its last nuclear reactor in 2023, has not indicated plans to reverse that decision. Von der Leyen's remarks prompted discussion in Germany about the country's energy policy direction.
Von der Leyen's father, Ernst Albrecht, was a member of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union, the same party as his daughter. Albrecht served as head of government of the state of Lower Saxony in the 1970s and was a staunch supporter of nuclear energy. He attempted to establish a final repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste in the east of his state, but the effort failed. The village of Gorleben, which had been designated as the proposed location for that repository, became a focal point of opposition involving hundreds of thousands of people.