March 1999

Due largely to political pressure from environmental political parties and activists, Germany started a policy of phasing out its usage of nuclear power plants.  Now, problems have arisen and the process has slowed down.

Germany's environment minister Jürgen Trittin, a member of the Green party, said that the program was still going despite the recent setbacks.

Map of Germany.  Image Credit: CIA.

However, the discussion between the German government and industry leaders fell apart as the two sides failed to reach an agreement in their "consensus talks."  During the talks, 35,000 Germans working in the nuclear power sector came to protest the elimination of their jobs.

The German government proposed to begin taxing the financial assets of power industry firms.  The taxes would amount to billions of marks.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder criticized the new taxes and the finance minister who participated in suggesting them, Oscar Lafontaine.  Schröder also criticized the Green Party and environment minister Jürgen Trittin for their part in the negotiations.

Lafontaine later resigned from his position, in large part because of the disagreement over the nuclear industry regulations.

The nuclear phase-out has become a major political issue in Germany.  Bavarian economics minister Otto Wiesheu said that the phase-out was analogous to Hitler's "final solution" but later apologized for his remark.

Many are protesting because they say that once Germany ends its nuclear power production, it will simply import nuclear power from France.

A German group called the Non-Violent Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons