BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Former State Secretary for Economic Affairs Patrick Graichen has rejected accusations regarding decisions on the nuclear phase-out. In the Bundestag's committee of inquiry, Graichen said in response to a question from chairman Stefan Heck (CDU) as to whether the ministry had proceeded with an open mind and without "thinking taboos" on the question of a possible lifetime extension for nuclear power plants in 2022: "Yes, we did."

The CDU/CSU in particular accuses Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (both Greens) of not examining the continued operation of nuclear power plants in Germany "with an open mind" and "without bias" after the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, as presented by the ministries, but of deciding on ideological grounds.

Once a state secretary, now an advisor

Graichen was State Secretary for Energy in the Ministry of Economic Affairs until May 2023 and one of Habeck's closest colleagues. He was forced to resign after allegations of nepotism. Graichen told the committee of inquiry that he is now an advisor on energy and climate policy issues. The 52-year-old is a member of the supervisory board of the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenergo.

Due to the energy crisis caused by the war, the German government ultimately decided to keep the last three nuclear power plants running for a few months longer than originally planned. As a result, the German nuclear phase-out was postponed from December 31, 2022 to April 15, 2023. The duration of the continued operation of the power plants and the decision on the final nuclear phase-out had caused heated debate and controversy.

With regard to the continued operation of the nuclear power plants, Graichen said that the central question had been whether there was a benefit to security of supply that justified "addressing" risks and problems. The state of knowledge was that the contribution would have been minimal.

Scholz and Habeck to testify in January

Stefan Tidow, State Secretary at the Ministry of the Environment, spoke to the committee with regard to the discussions in March 2022 of a very low yield from both a so-called extended operation of the nuclear power plants and an extension of operation in order to deal with the situation.

The committee of inquiry plans to question Habeck and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), among others, in January./hoe/DP/mis