“Deal” with Engie: “Too expensive, too late and uncertain”

“This is not an agreement,” MP Bert Wollants says of the deal the federal government struck with Engie on the extension of the nuclear power stations. “It only deals with extending the service life of two reactors from 2026. Much also depends on the price of nuclear waste disposal. The French will only finally sign when these are clear. The uncertainty about our energy supply will therefore continue to drag on, and the discussion about the money is still ahead,” says a concerned Wollants. “A vacuous deal,” agrees chairman Bart De Wever. “Who wants to participate in a company without knowing what the final invoice will be?”

“Even if the French agree in March on the price of waste disposal, our energy supply remains extremely uncertain. Indeed, by sticking to the Groen party’s dogmas, the De Croo government only wanted to negotiate the extension of two nuclear power plants. While in the meantime, almost everyone knows that we should keep as many nuclear power stations open as possible. Also, the agreement only extends the power stations by ten years, while it is perfectly possible to keep them open for an extra 20 years,” Wollants continues.

“No work starts either; studies about work start. Was anything signed in Paris? I didn’t think there was,” says Bart De Wever. 

Winter 2025 without nuclear power

“In addition, this pseudo-agreement is much too late, of course. The federal government should have negotiated seriously with Engie two years ago. By having to negotiate with its back against the wall, the federal government has saddled taxpayers with a very expensive deal that doesn’t even solve our energy problem. Doel 4 and Tihange 3 stations would in fact not be operational again until the winter of 2026 at best, which means that we will not be able to rely on nuclear power in the winter of 2025, and which is completely unacceptable,” Wollants continues.

Nuclear energy file completely deteriorated

As far as Bert Wollants is concerned, it is clear: “The De Croo government has allowed the nuclear power dossier to completely deteriorate at the behest of the Groen party. This deal with Engie is an extremely expensive plaster on a wooden leg. The federal government should have negotiated much sooner and on many more nuclear power stations. That would have been better for our security of supply and our wallets.”