Germany approves controversial French-Russian nuclear fuel project

German authorities on July 22 approved a controversial project involving French nuclear company Framatome and Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom, despite concerns that the cooperation could create opportunities for espionage and sabotage.

The planned joint venture would produce fuel rods for Russian-designed nuclear reactors at Framatome subsidiary Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF) in Lingen, Lower Saxony, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

ANF applied for approval in March 2022, weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Lower Saxony’s Environment Ministry said it had decided to approve the project. However, Environment Minister Christian Meyer reiterated his opposition to cooperation with Rosatom, saying that dealings and close cooperation with the Russian nuclear agency were “totally wrong.”

Meyer said the ministry had no legal grounds to reject the application or impose a time limit because Rosatom is not subject to EU sanctions.

Rosatom has been excluded from successive rounds of EU sanctions imposed on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Under the approval, Rosatom employees and staff from Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL will only be allowed to enter the Lingen facility in very limited circumstances and must be accompanied by the relevant inspectorate, the ministry said.

The ministry added that the approval could be reviewed if new risks emerge, particularly those related to national security.

By Sabina Mammadli