Germany's economy minister rules out return to nuclear power

Berlin, May 9 (CTK correspondent) - Germany's new Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Katherina Reiche, today ruled out the possibility of Germany returning to nuclear power. In her view, a return would cost too much, and there is no consensus in society for it. Nuclear power is part of Europe's energy mix, she said, but no longer Germany's. Reiche plans to focus on building gas-fired power plants, DPA reported.

The decision to phase out nuclear power in Germany was originally made in May 2011 by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), of which both Reiche and Chancellor Friedrich Merz are members. It was prompted by the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, that same year.

Before the snap elections to the Bundestag in February, the conservative CDU/CSU alliance repeatedly said it considered the end of nuclear power generation in Germany a mistake. Among its strongest advocates is Markus Söder, leader of Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), who supported cooperation with Czechia in this area during a visit to Prague last year.

But Reiche, speaking today at a conference in southern Germany, said the country's phaseout of nuclear power was complete and reversing it would cost too much. Germany disconnected its last three nuclear power plants from the grid in 2023, ending more than 60 years of nuclear power generation. The economy minister also said that, in addition to the cost, a return to nuclear power would lack the necessary confidence from businesses that would take part in the process, as well as public consensus that it was the right move.

While nuclear power will no longer be part of Germany's energy mix, that is not the case in other European Union countries, Reiche pointed out. Czechia is among the EU member states that include nuclear power in their energy mix.

Reiche called for the construction of new gas-fired power plants to be accelerated.