Nuclear phaseout debate

The European press gave mixed reviews of the decision on Monday by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to abandon previous plans and speed up the transition out of nuclear energy.

The nationally-circulated German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung says it is time for Germany to take advantage of the opportunity. Merkel's plan should not be seen as "poison for the industry" or a "bizarre and unilateral action in a world economy powered by nuclear reactors," it writes.

Rather, the government's proposal should be understood not just as a phaseout, but a transition into a potential "environmentally profitable solar age." Every nation on the earth must eventually grapple with the limited resources we have, it writes, and Germany's forward thinking puts it among the avant-garde.

The Cologne-based Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger writes skeptically that "it should be clear to everyone that nothing is accomplished with a signature and some pithy words."

It is still unknown exactly what Germans will have to sacrifice to fulfill their "legitimate" wish for nuclear-free energy, it writes: "Now the work really begins."

The British left-leaning daily The Independent points out that Merkel's plan is anything but new - rather it is essentially a retreat to the policies laid out by her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, in 2000.

Last year she managed to pass a law extending the lifespan of nuclear power plants by an average 12 years, but the mounting public opposition to the law proved too great for her to ignore.

"In solving one problem, however - the political unpopularity of nuclear power - Ms. Merkel's government has created another: how to replace the power that will now not come from nuclear reactors," it writes.

In Sweden, where Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren doubted whether setting a specific date was the best way to transition from nuclear to renewables, the review was less positive.

The Stockholm-based conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet writes that Merkel's decision was entirely wrong.

"Electricity will get more expensive, jobs will disappear and the economy will weaken - without bringing any environmental benefits," it writes. "And Germany's decision doesn't affect just the Germans. All of Europe gets to feel the effects."

With tongue in cheek, the conservative Parisian daily Le Figaro says Merkel's about-face is "spectacular":

"This would now mean that people would inevitably demand renewable energy and search everywhere for ways to save power - magnificent! Of course one should focus on new technologies - but for the right reasons, and without forgetting the costs of a hasty abandonment of such a heavyweight industry."

Author: Andrew Bowen
Editor: Martin Kuebler