Poles Tell Germans To Rethink Exit from Nuclear Power

Sept. 13, 2021 (EIRNS)—As is hinted in some media accounts, the question of nuclear power came up during German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw on Sept. 11. Whereas both agreed that an agreement with Russia to guarantee natural gas transit via Ukraine should be pursued, Morawiecki reiterated Poland’s opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, however he stressed that Poland is going to develop nuclear power capacities to reduce its dependency on natural gas which is what is developing in Germany. Poland thinks the exit from nuclear power in Germany comes too early, as so- called renewables alone will not provide enough power, therefore Germany’s import of gas will increase.

Earlier demarches from the German government to Poland that it should include the German concerns about the safety of nuclear power and consult with Berlin on its policy have been discarded by Warsaw, which views its energy policy an issue of national sovereignty not negotiable with other countries.

It is worth recalling that at least twice, about 100 Polish intellectuals signed an open letter to Germany to drop its nuclear exit, some of them even coming to Germany to protest at the site of the NPP Philippsburg, which Germany, however, removed from the grid at the end of 2020.