Belgium signs agreement to close all nuclear power plants

Belgium has signed an agreement to close all of its nuclear power plants, although it will invest 100 million euros into research on nuclear power.

The government of Belgium has signed an agreement confirming it will close all its nuclear power plants by 2025, according to local press. However, it will continue with its investments into nuclear power technologies.

The federal government of Belgium is a seven-party coalition, which includes prime minister Alexander De Croo’s liberals, socialists and ecologists. They have been negotiating and discussing the country’s nuclear future for weeks; the green party demands respect for a law established in 2003 aimed at phasing out the use of nuclear power, whereas the French-speaking liberals want to keep the country’s two most modern reactors open.

The two Belgian nuclear power plants, which have a total of seven reactors, are operated by the French company Engie.

After a dialogue that lasted all night, the group of ministers reached the agreement that the last of the nuclear power plants would close in 2025. However, Belgium will still invest 100 million euros into research on nuclear power, focusing on smaller-scale modular reactors.

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