The Rosatom pavilion at the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, 18 June 2025. Photo: EPA / Anatoly Maltsev
The German government has approved the expansion of the Lingen Nuclear Power Plant in Lower Saxony, which will indirectly involve purchasing nuclear fuel from Russia’s nuclear power agency Rosatom, German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel reported on Friday.
The decision is a controversial one as it will allow French company Framatome and Russian state corporation Rosatom to jointly produce nuclear fuel for Soviet-designed water-water energetic reactors (VVERs) used across Northern and Eastern Europe.
Through its subsidiary TVEL, Rosatom will effectively be given a role in Germany’s only nuclear fuel facility, despite EU efforts to reduce the bloc’s energy dependence on Russia since Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Critics warn that the decision deepens strategic dependence on Moscow and poses security risks, arguing that cooperation with Rosatom could expose critical infrastructure to political leverage as Russia continues to target energy infrastructure in its war against Ukraine.
Exiled Russian environmental campaigner Vladimir Slivyak warned that the decision would strengthen a key agency within Russia’s military-industrial complex, creating a “clear security risk” to the EU and helping to finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Nuclear expert and campaigner Patricia Lorenz said that the decision demonstrated the nuclear industry’s dependence on Russia and the power that Rosatom continues to hold over political decisions.
The German government’s announcement came just days after Rosatom ended its contract with Germany conglomerate Siemens for its role in the construction of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, describing it as unable “to fulfill its contractual obligations," Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday.
