The coalition partners rejected Demir’s proposal to invest in Dutch nuclear power plants

According to CD&V, it is not a good idea to enter into talks with the Netherlands about possible Flemish participation in new nuclear power plants in the Netherlands. Flemish Energy Minister Zohal Demir (N-VA) announced Saturday morning that she had begun exploratory talks on the matter with her Dutch colleague, Rob Gettin.

CD&V, the coalition partner in the Flemish government, has little understanding of the proposal. “Instead of just investing our money in old generation Dutch nuclear power plants, we should put maximum effort into the research and development of our country’s latest generation nuclear power plants,” says Sami Mahdi, head of CD&V.

• JR: Did you convert to nuclear power? This is a responsible policy.

It indicates the experience and knowledge that Flanders has at home with SCK, the Nuclear Research Center on Mull. Let’s use it to build our country’s latest generation small-scale nuclear power plants by 2045. Until 2045, we must use our existing nuclear power plants as much as possible to keep the lights on. We have operational nuclear power plants in our country. So why look elsewhere?

“Don’t just give pennies to the Dutch”

Nor is there applause from the other Flemish alliance partner Open VLD. “Cooperation is always good, but preferably with the whole country,” says Flemish Member of Parliament Willem-Frederik Schiltz. Flanders is authorized to make sure that we all install solar panels on our roofs. The federal policy level is responsible for nuclear power plants. Negotiations are currently underway to ensure that existing nuclear power plants can provide energy for the coming years.

“We are already investing hundreds of millions of euros in research on new nuclear power plants,” says Schiltz. “We should be a little concerned about giving our money and our knowledge to the Dutch in this way.”

political game

Opposition party Gruen is disturbed by Demir’s endeavors. “This is a purely political game,” co-chair Jeremy Fannekhout tweeted. There is clearly additional Flemish money for energy investments. Free that up for the things that make energy affordable or sustainable and that you’re responsible for: insulation, solar panels on all roofs…”

His presidential colleague Nadia Nagy is on the same page: “Getting cheap in the media or carrying out its basic tasks: insulating homes, electrifying homes, strengthening the grid …: the choice is made quickly.”