Lower Saxony blames Berlin; Berlin points to the European Commission
A subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom will provide the technology, licences and equipment to produce hexagonal nuclear fuel rods in Germany in a joint venture with state-owned Électricité de France (EDF), extending the Kremlin’s role in the EU nuclear supply chain.
Lingen, a town of fewer than 60,000 people in Lower Saxony, has been at the centre of a years-long dispute over plans to expand its nuclear fuel production facility. The project is particularly sensitive because France’s flagship power generator wants to produce hexagonal fuel rods for Soviet-era reactors in central Europe.
On Thursday, the local environment ministry approved the plans.
The technology will be provided by TVEL, a subsidiary of Russian nuclear firm Rosatom once described as “deeply embedded within the Russian military complex.” Its current CEO is sanctioned by the US and UK, while its former director is now the Kremlin’s deputy chief of staff.
