Deputy Prime Minister Groen Petra De Sutter admitted on Sunday that she had little taste for the request for an opinion from the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) requested by the Minister of the Interior CD&V Annelies Verlinden regarding an extension of Doel 3. “We are shocked by the request to examine the possibility of an extension to the FANC, a few days before the cessation of operations”, declared the Flemish Deputy Prime Minister for the Environment, at the during the program “De Zevende dag” on Eén (VRT).
A few days ago, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) asked the FANC whether the dismantling of the Doel 3 nuclear reactor might be safely postponed. This would allow, if necessary, to restart the plant at a later date, she had justified.
Ms. Verlinden had affirmed during the program Terzake (Canvas-VRT) that the nuclear control body had responded positively to this request, which it then denied.
“Within the government, the question of whether Doel 3 might continue to operate this winter had already been asked this summer. Even then, we were told that it would not be possible, commented Petra De Sutter on Sunday. .
Minister Verlinden’s stance on “Terzake” was not made “on behalf of the government”, Deputy Premier Groen added. “We were all a little surprised by that. She may have communicated a little too quickly and been called to order. I hope the lesson is clear: it is better to avoid this happening”.
Ms De Sutter further stated that she still believed in a European price cap on gas imports.
Asked several times by RTL-tvi during the program “It’s not every day on Sunday”, Deputy Prime Minister Ecolo Georges Gilkinet refused to comment on whether or not to extend the activity of more than two nuclear reactors. “Let’s start by finding a good agreement on the terms of the extension of the two most powerful reactors. It’s already not easy,” he commented on this subject.
