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Svenja Schulze
Photo: Wolfgang Kumm / dpa
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze has announced a new legal regulation soon after the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on compensation for the nuclear phase-out.
"We will analyze the judgment thoroughly and quickly bring a legal regulation in motion that meets the requirements of the Federal Constitutional Court," said the SPD politician.
Previously, the Karlsruhe judges had collected the statutory regulations on compensation for the Vattenfall and RWE groups, decided by the grand coalition in 2018, and thus granted Vattenfall's constitutional complaint.
After the decision in Karlsruhe, the financial compensation for certain power plant operators has to be completely reorganized due to the accelerated nuclear phase-out.
Vattenfall itself responded with satisfaction.
The change in the law from 2018 did not even begin to meet the requirements of the court and instead intensified the massive distortions of competition between the utilities, the company said.
"The federal government naturally respects the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court," said Schulze.
It is clear that the ruling does not affect the nuclear phase-out by 2022 per se.
This has already been confirmed in previous decisions.
"It is about a peripheral area: regulations for certain possible compensation claims of the nuclear power plant operators."
"Sounding slap" for the federal government
After the verdict of the Constitutional Court, the Greens criticized the Chancellor's environmental policy.
"This is the expensive legacy of Merkel's erratic nuclear policy," said former Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin.
"It was not until the extension of the term, which she beat through in 2010, that the corporations have a legal right to compensation."
Now "billions for corporations would be due for a technology that nobody wants," said Trittin.
The nuclear expert of the Greens in the Bundestag, Sylvia Kotting-Uhl, spoke of a "resounding slap in the face" for the federal government.
"It shows the inability of both the then black and yellow federal government in 2011 and the current grand coalition to implement a legally secure nuclear phase-out".
Both Kotting-Uhl and environmentalists also criticized the nuclear company Vattenfall.
"Anyone who is still fighting for their long-shutdown nuclear power plants in 2020 instead of the energy transition has not recognized the signs of the times," said the Green politician.
The head of the environmental organization BUND, Olaf Bandt, said it was "illegitimate" for nuclear companies to "bring ever new excessive demands to court against national decisions".
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svs / dpa / AFP
