De Croo and Minister of Energy Tinne van der Straeten have been negotiating with Engie for months regarding extending the lifespan of Tihange 3 and Doel 4. MR chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez suggested on Sunday that an agreement is imminent, but the agreement was still pending on Monday morning. not fully completed and negotiations are still ongoing.
The intention was actually to have an agreement in place by December 31, but that turned out to be too tight. After the New Year, intensive meetings continued throughout the week. In this way, De Croo can resume the political year without an annoying bulb wash in parliament.
Doel 4 and Tihange 3 should be available by the end of 2026 (following a break in 2025), but this can only be done if the preparatory studies and works for extending the lifespan are started quickly. Engie must, among other things, submit a file to the regulator FANC in which it proves that the nuclear power plants can safely remain open. However, the French energy company refuses to start that process without a binding agreement with the De Croo government. That is too great a financial risk, they say. In the past, the costs of the entire operation were estimated at around 1 billion euros.
