Germany pulls screeching U-turn as Putin’s grip forces Scholz to keep nuclear plants open

The temporarily move will let the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland kilns keep running until April 15 next year following the vote passed in the Bundestag. 375 MPs voted in favor of amending the Atomic Energy Act, 216 voted against and 70 abstained out of a total 661 votes cast.

The SPD MP Carsten Träger said with a view to April 15: “On this day I will hug my children and my wife and toast them with a glass of champagne.” 

But Germany, which is normally hugely reliant on Russian gas to power its economy and households across the country, had also been preparing for the event which Putin attempts to “freeze” Europe by cutting off its supplies, a threat which came after the EU mulled over price caps on Russian fuel, by building up its gas storage levels. 

The nation reportedly filled its  storage facilities to 90 percent of their capacity to swerve the impacts if a supply cut, with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck claiming Germany has a good chance of getting through the winter “comfortably” even in the absence of Russian supplies. 

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1695714/germany-putin-scholz-nuclear-power-bundestag-vote-latest