Germany on Wednesday approved an application by French firm Framatome to produce nuclear fuel rods under a licensing agreement with state-backed Russian firms despite political concerns, arguing it lacked the legal basis for a rejection.
A Framatome subsidiary had applied to produce at its plant in northern Germany fuel elements to supply nuclear plants in the eastern European market using Russian licenses and technology in a joint venture with Russian firms TVEL/Rosatom.
Despite political concerns due to Russia's war in Ukraine, the environment ministry in the state of Lower Saxony with guidance from the federal environment ministry granted the necessary approval subject to certain conditions.
A spokesperson for the federal ministry said that while the government in Berlin has a critical view of the cooperation with a Russian state-owned company, the decision was made in accordance with the relevant nuclear laws of Germany.
"The appropriate instrument to address this, however, is not nuclear law, but rather EU-wide sanctions, including those in the nuclear sector," the ministry said in a statement.
