BUND is suing against fuel element production in Lingen

The environmental association BUND is taking legal action against the production of fuel elements for Russian-designed nuclear reactors in Lingen in Emsland.

The BUND announced on Friday that a lawsuit was filed with the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Lüneburg on Thursday against the planned expansion of the French company Framatome's factory. A court spokesman confirmed receipt. The lawsuit is directed against the state of Lower Saxony, which approved the expanded production.

Lingen-based Advanced Nuclear Fuels GmbH (ANF), a subsidiary of Framatome, wants to produce fuel elements for Russian-designed nuclear power plants there. To this end, Framatome is relying on a cooperation with a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Rosatom.

The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment issued a permit with conditions for the controversial factory expansion in July. The country argued that it could not reject the application under the Atomic Energy Act. After an examination, the federal government came to the conclusion that there were no sufficient risks from possible espionage or sabotage.

The BUND and the anti-nuclear organization Radiated, which supports the lawsuit, see it differently. The organizations criticize the planned cooperation with Rosatom and warn of geopolitical risks.

BUND federal chairman Olaf Bandt warned that while sabotage attempts were increasing in Germany, the approval would give Rosatom access to critical infrastructure in Lingen. This will strengthen Russia's influence in Germany and Europe. “Since both production and parts of quality control in Lingen are carried out using machines supplied by Rosatom, production and testing could be manipulated,” said Bandt. “This raises serious security and foreign policy questions.”

From the perspective of the lawsuit alliance, the Environment Ministry's approval is also on shaky ground due to "serious procedural errors", for example in the environmental impact assessment.

When asked about the lawsuit, a spokesman for the Environment Ministry in Hanover said that the ministry's position on the approval was known. Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) criticized the cooperation between Framatome and Rosatom when it was granted in July. He considers doing business with the Russian nuclear company to be “fundamentally wrong” politically. Dependencies on Russia must be reduced, especially in the sensitive nuclear sector.

The spokesman for the Higher Administrative Court said that it was not yet possible to predict when there would be an oral hearing. First, the administrative processes would have to be requested.