A number of communes and regions neighbouring Belgium, located on the border regions of Germany, the Netherlands, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, have officially commenced first instance court proceedings against Tihange 2.
These are specifically Aix-la-Chapelle, Maastricht and Wiltz in Luxembourg, which are all requesting that the power station operation be stopped, the Brussels law firm, Blixt, which represents a number of energy sector clients states.
Some 80 German, Luxembourg and Dutch communes have launched this procedure. The Barrister Tinne Van der Straeten from Blixt confirmed this.
The former Green militant added, “We have today issued the subpoena to the Belgian state, Engie Electrabel and the AFCN (Federal Agency for Nuclear Monitoring).”
The complainants wish that the operation of Tihange 2 be stopped, owing to their potentially being personally implicated in the event of a major nuclear accident.
Mrs Van der Straeten explained that the underlying issue in these proceedings is knowing whether the nuclear power station is indeed authorised to operate.
This comes after faults had been indicated within the nuclear reactors Doel 3 and Tihange 2 in the summer of 2012. The nuclear regulator gave its green light, at the end of 2015, to restarting these reactors.
The Barrister from Blixt does not expect a judgement in this case before 2018. Earlier this year, the urban region of Aix-la-Chapelle started a similar action before the State Council to overturn the decision to restart Tihange 2. A decision in this case is expected in the course of next year.
