Germany Wary About EU Energy Policy

Germany reacted cautiously Wednesday to an EU plan to diversify energy sources, raising concerns about the new EU president’s ability to tackle the issue in the 27-member bloc.

While German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel is in favor of the Commission’s quotas on greenhouse gases, Economy Minister Michael Glos told reporters on Wednesday he could not rule out legal action against the Commission. Glos has criticized Brussels for the CO2 emissions targets that he says would hurt German firms.
“Economic growth will not help us if our environment is at risk but we need to achieve these objectives in a way which does not impinge on our competitiveness,” Glos said.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and its coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), are also at odds on nuclear power.

While the SPD remains committed to a phase-out that will see all nuclear plants shut down by 2020, the CDU is in favor of extending their life spans.

Merkel on Wednesday reaffirmed that she was personally in favor of extending the use of nuclear power.

Deutsche Welle