Belgium's Chamber of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill repealing the 2003 law that set a deadline for phasing out nuclear energy.
The bill received widespread support except from Ecolo-Groen, which voted against it, while the Parti Socialiste (PS) and Parti du Travail Belge (PTB) abstained.
The new majority has decided to reinvest in nuclear energy, with Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet (Mouvement Réformateur, MR) announcing a “re-evaluation of nuclear energy within the energy mix” in his general policy note.
The bill abolishes, among other provisions, Article 3 of the 2003 law, which had set 2025 as the nuclear phase-out deadline for Belgium.
'A historic moment'
During the previous legislative period, the De Croo government extended the operation of the two newest reactors, Doel 4 and Tihange 3, for ten years after long negotiations with energy utility Engie, but did not alter the 2025 deadline for other reactors.
As early as October 2024, several parties from the then-prospective Arizona majority submitted bills to extend existing nuclear reactors and enable the construction of new plants, notably small modular reactors (SMRs).
The legislators worked on a bill initially submitted by the current Energy Minister and later taken over by Christophe Bombled (MR), who hailed the vote as a “historic moment” and the result of a “long and consistent struggle by the MR.”
“We are reopening the field of possibilities,” he said.
Ten-year extension possible
The bill effectively removes any nuclear phase-out date and includes the potential for a ten-year extension. To preserve the agreement with Engie, the date for the closure of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 remains set at 31 December 2037, for now. However, the government retains the ability to change this deadline and may extend all units or build new ones, contingent on an impact study.
Ecolo-Groen, authors of the 2003 law, voted against the bill, criticising it as a “public relations stunt” by the Arizona coalition. “There is nothing on the table!” Former Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten exclaimed.
Ecolo-Groen MP Rajae Maouane dismissed it as “just hot air… not even wind to power turbines.”
Both PS and PTB abstained, with Marie Meunier (PS) condemning the bill as a “symbol” with “complete vagueness” on the country’s energy future. Roberto D’Amico (PTB) described the legislation as “symbolic,” claiming that it allows the majority to “strut in the press.”
