Lower Saxony’s Environmental Minister, Christian Meyer (Greens), has contacted the Federal Chancellery, the Foreign Ministry, and the Interior Ministry with a letter to check whether any security concerns regarding the Russian nuclear partnership at the ANF facility in Lingen still exist.
Meyer told the “Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Saturday edition) that he had re-queried the federal authorities to see if the security assessment for the project had changed following the drone incidents at Leipzig Airport. He requested a response from the three ministries as quickly as possible. Although the Federal Ministry for the Environment has received the letter for acknowledgment, Meyer confirmed that no official answer from the federal government is available yet.
Approval has already been granted to the Lingener Brennelemente-Fabrik Advanced Nuclear Fuels (ANF) for the construction of Soviet-designed fuel rods in cooperation with the Russian state corporation Rosatom. Nevertheless, Meyer clarified that production has not yet been authorized.
To avoid having to wait for the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the environmental organization BUND against the project, ANF has submitted an application to the State Ministry of the Environment for immediate enforcement. Meyer stated that should the federal ministries continue to harbor no security concerns, he will be required to grant this application.
