The mistake of the century: Doel 3 closes today

Today, the Doel 3 nuclear power station is closing its doors. “The mistake of the century,” says the N-VA. With a striking campaign in all the Flemish newspapers and a large delegation in Doel, the N-VA once again underlines its plea to keep as many nuclear power stations as possible safely open for as long as possible.

Climate, purchasing power and energy independence

Even now that it appears that our dependence on fossil fuels is plunging us into a crisis, the De Croo government remains stubbornly committed to a nuclear power phase-out. The fact that it was only barely a week ago that people stepped in to try to stop a closure makes the whole situation even more hallucinatory. This Vivaldi government is trapped in the Groen party’s dogmatic anti-nuclear doctrine.

Everywhere in the world, people are opting for nuclear energy, even in those countries where they wanted to close all nuclear power stations until recently. Many countries are even planning new power stations. Not so in Belgium. The N-VA continues to advocate keeping as many nuclear power stations as possible safely open for as long as possible. “For the sake of the climate, your purchasing power and our energy independence.”

Stand up for Nuclear

A large delegation of Flemish and federal MPs and the Young N-VA thus also attended a protest in Doel by Stand up for Nuclear, an organisation that advocates the preservation of nuclear energy in our energy mix.

“Permanently writing off a nuclear power station that is still usable cannot be justified in this energy crisis,” explains MP and energy expert Bert Wollants. “Doel 3 is the first victim of the lack of decisiveness of the De Croo government, which apparently sees our energy supplies as merely a war of symbols.” He is referring to a statement by Groen party Minister Van der Straeten: “Suddenly, the minister jerks awake from her dogmatic dream, and we could ‘put Doel 3 and Tihange 2 stations to good use this winter’. But what about the nine difficult winters still to come?”

Vain hope

“If there is still hope for both Doel 3 and Tihange 2, those nuclear power stations must now be included in the negotiations with Engie,” Wollants warns. “But due to the eternal lack of consensus and decisiveness within the De Croo government, that is a vain hope. What does reassure me is that two-thirds of the population do want to keep our nuclear power stations open longer. That is why we are making our voices heard here today.”