© istockphoto.com/Michael Utech
Minister Gabriel on new draft legislation "Parents are held liable for their children"
Germany wants to phase out nuclear energy by 2022. There is a clear set of rules when it comes to who must bear the cost of nuclear decommissioning and nuclear-waste management. Under applicable law, this responsibility falls solely to the operators of the nuclear power plants in question. They must bear all of the costs of decommissioning and dismantling their nuclear power plants and of disposing of all of the radioactive waste.
The new rules that have been put in place are there to ensure that the large energy corporations affected by this will actually assume these liabilities in the long term – even where they undergo restructuring. As Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel put it in no uncertain terms, the rules are based on the principle that "parents are held liable for their children".
Once the consultations with the Länder and the associations have been concluded, the Federal Cabinet is to deliberate the text.