At the nuclear energy summit in Paris announced EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU): “We will promote nuclear energy again in the future.” At the same time, she called the exit a “strategic mistake.”

For FOCUS columnist Jan Fleischhauer, this insight comes late, as he explains in the podcast “The Black Channel”. At the meeting of around 40 heads of state and government, Germany “didn’t have a single government representative on site,” he says.

In Fleischhauer’s eyes, this is an expression of a special path. Germany considered itself morally superior when it came to the energy transition. Other countries, on the other hand, have long since returned to nuclear power.

Sad reaction from the Chancellor

Fleischhauer considers how Friedrich Merz (CDU) reacted to von der Leyen’s announcement to be significant. The Chancellor stated that The exit has now been decided and is “irreversible”. We now have to live with the energy transition.

The columnist’s verdict: “That was by the way the saddest statement by a Federal Chancellor ever.” He finds it particularly absurd that Germany has not only turned away from nuclear power, but has also blocked its own path back.

He cites the Grundremmingen nuclear power plant as an example. Its cooling towers were blown up last October. “It’s not enough for us to get out, we’re also cutting off our way back.”

New nuclear power plants – paid for with EU money

While German plants are disappearing, new ones are being created elsewhere. An engineer from the dismantling department told the FOCUS columnist: “To this day, the safety standard of German nuclear power plants is unmatched.”

The punchline: Three new reactor blocks are being built near Gdansk in Poland – with EU money. “That is the point of politics,” comments Fleischhauer. Germany is financing new nuclear power plants in Europe. Just not in your own country.