Van der Straeten: ‘Negotiations with Engie must be concluded before September’

The negotiations with the French energy company Engie, which operates the nuclear power stations in our country through Electrabel, must be concluded before September. That is what Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Groen) made clear on Saturday in The morning on radio 1.

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Negotiations with Engie on the conditions for the extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, which the government decided in March to keep open for another 10 years, are in full swing. The talks are difficult, the minister acknowledged, but ‘it is also difficult’. She is confident that a solution will be found before September. ‘We are condemned to each other, in a positive way. Engie has always been a partner to ensure supplies.”

Van der Straeten also points to the need for a quick decision by the Flemish government in the Ventilus file, about the new high-voltage line in West Flanders that should bring offshore wind energy ashore. According to experts, the new high-voltage lines must be above ground, but this is met with protest from West Flemish municipalities. The Minister of Energy indicates that a ‘compensation policy is an integral part of energy policy’. Procrastination is not an option, it sounds. ‘We need to speed up the energy transition, not slow it down. Postponing the decision could endanger security of supply.’

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