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After the abandonment of nuclear power decided in 2011 and which will be effective within three years, Germany has just planned the completion by 2038 of its coal and lignite mines, which still play an important role in the production of electricity. greenhouse gas emissions. This energy turnaround led to lengthy negotiations with the regions concerned to support them financially in order to prepare for the post-coal phase. This vast investment program was adopted on Wednesday 22 May by the Council of Ministers in Berlin.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
40 billion to fight against the far right. The shortcut is a bit simple, but the adoption Wednesday by the Council of Ministers, four days before the European elections , a massive plan to help the regions concerned by the abandonment in twenty years of mines and coal-fired power plants, is timely.
Two of the four Länder affected by this energy turnaround will vote in the fall. Located in the eastern part of the country, the far-right party AfD should get very good results.
The 40 billion announced correspond to the proposals made by a commission set up in recent months. The state will pay part of this money to the four affected regions - North Rhine-Westphalia to the West, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg to the East.
The rest will be used to improve infrastructures - railways or digital networks -, to establish research centers or administrations. On arrival the goal is to reduce as much as possible the economic and social consequences for these already fragile regions today.
The announcement of this plan will be followed by the planning of the closure of the mines and power plants in operation. A task that will be very delicate. Compensation for operating companies will be another difficult issue.