It was only a relatively petty dispute over the organization of an EU event in Brussels. And yet, revealed how differently Economy Minister Katherina Reiche — of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — and Environment Minister Carsten Schneider — of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — think about renewable energy, climate protection and nuclear power.
In mid-June, Reiche was looking for a way to spend the evening in Brussels after a long meeting with her EU counterparts. There were two options: a meeting with representatives from countries that want to continue to expand renewable energies, and a meeting with pro-nuclear states.
Twelve of the 27 EU states operate nuclear power plants, with France having the highest proportion — 55 reactors. Reiche ultimately attended the meeting of these countries, even though the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel moved to phase out nuclear energy after the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. Germany's last power plant went off the grid in spring 2023.
Renewables or nuclear power?
The fact that Reiche nevertheless chose to attend the meeting with the nuclear countries angered her SPD colleague. Schneider is officially responsible for nuclear safety in Germany as the environment minister, including issues relating to the interim and final storage of nuclear waste.
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