Matthias Mersch (SPD) against the EU Commission’s climate-sensitive classification

Berlin. The deputy leader of the SPD’s parliamentary group, Matthias Mersch, spoke firmly against investment in new nuclear power plants in the European Union.

“Germany must exhaust all possibilities to prevent the promotion of this technology at the European level,” he told dpa in Berlin. According to a proposal identified on Saturday, the EU Commission wants to classify investments in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly under certain conditions.

Merch responded with this: “Nuclear energy is not sustainable and not economical at all.” Unfortunately, parts of the climate movement are also not very critical toward this technology. “New nuclear power plant projects cannot be funded at all without significant support,” Mersch said. This also applies to the costs of follow-up to final storage.

“The future should belong only to renewables – especially at the level of the European Union,” said the SPD politician. “If nuclear power is subsidized in tandem with carbon dioxide pricing, the result will be a massive distortion of competition. Instead, we need to have a discussion about comparable pricing of nuclear power.”

The proposal from Brussels states that planned investments in France in new nuclear power plants in particular can be classified as green if the plants meet the latest standards and a specific plan for radioactive waste is presented. Investments in new gas-fired power plants should also be classified as green temporarily, particularly at the request of Germany.