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Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · · 820 words · By Jens Thurau
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What to know about Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says

Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says March 11, 2026At a nuclear summit near Paris earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the transition from nuclear energy undertaken by some EU countries as a…

Claims checked 15
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center80%
Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says March 11, 2026At a nuclear summit near Paris earlier this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the transition from nuclear energy undertaken by some EU countries as a…

Why it matters

Von der Leyen's words reverberated in Germany, which switched off its last nuclear reactor in 2023.

Common ground

Von der Leyen's father, Ernst Albrecht, like his daughter a member of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was the head of government of the state of Lower Saxony in the 1970s and a staunch supporter of nuclear energy.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-nuclear-power-plants-european-union-energy-policy/…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5
schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
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Claim 1: “No German nuclear plants have been operational since 2023”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions the 'Isar II nuclear power plant in Bavaria, Germany, before its 2023 closure,' suggesting a closure in 2023, but this is not corroborated by other independent sources in the provided evidence set to confirm *all* plants were decommissioned since 2023.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 All In, also promoted as All In London at Wembley Stadium or simply All In London, was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_In_(2023)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 All Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was the fifth annual All Out and took place during Labor Day weekend on September 3, 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Out_(2023)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The "Deutschlandlied", officially titled "Das Lied der Deutschen", is a German poem written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. A popular song which was made for the cause of creating a unif…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandlied
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “Spain and Austria have permanently shut down nuclear power”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions Spain retiring nuclear units, but there is no corroborating evidence from other independent sources regarding both Spain and Austria permanently closing their programs.
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web search NEUTRAL — Austria (Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant) and the Philippines (Bataan Nuclear Power Plant) both built a nuclear plant but never put it in use.The Philippines relaunched their nuclear programme on Febr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country
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web search NEUTRAL — Coal plants closed. Nuclear units retired. On many spring days by 2025, Spain's midday solar generation exceeded its total afternoon demand, leading to frequent negative electricity prices. The system…
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/power-restored-spain-p…
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web search NEUTRAL — Relevant to the proliferation risks of nuclear power programs is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).More, but not all, states are trying to expand use of nuclear power programs. With concerns …
https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/risks-nuclear-power-pr…
info
Claim 3: “Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that 'Germany won't return to nuclear power, chancellor says' is supported by one web search result citing Chancellor Merz stating it's impossible, but no other independent sources corroborate this specific statement or consensus.
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web search NEUTRAL — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in favor of a proposal to build new nuclear power plants in the EU. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says it's impossible.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-nuclear-power-plants-european-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Germany's nuclear phase-out has increased dependence on coal and gas, leading to higher CO₂ emissions and electricity prices. An analysis by PwC indicates that, if nuclear power plants had remained op…
https://www.foronuclear.org/en/updates/in-depth/germanys-nuc…
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web search NEUTRAL — German nuclear power began with research reactors in the 1950s and 1960s, with the first commercial plant coming online in 1969. By 1990, nuclear power accounted for about a quarter of the electricity…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Germany
info
Claim 4: “Germany switched off its last nuclear reactor in 2023”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about Germany and the year 2023, but none of the search results or Wikipedia snippets explicitly confirm that Germany decommissioned its *final* nuclear reactor in 2023. The claim is not directly supported by the evidence provided.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events from the year 2023 in Germany.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_in_Germany
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Western and Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north with the Alps to the south. Its sixteen c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Democratic Party of Germany (German: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands), short-form: NPD, is a minor political party in Germany that was founded by dissidents that had split from …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Party_of_G…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 5: “France operates 57 reactors and formed a nuclear alliance with 15 EU states”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “Germany extended reactor lifespans in 2010 under a coalition government”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 7: “The repository for nuclear waste was never built in Gorleben”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Gorleben was considered a potential site but that the site has since been excluded or shut down from repository consideration, supporting the claim that a permanent repository was never built there.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gorleben (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɔʁˌleːbn̩] ) is a small municipality (Gemeinde) in the Gartow region of the Lüchow-Dannenberg district in the far north-east of Lower Saxony, Germany, a region also …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorleben
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lower Saxony is a state (Land) in Northern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with 47,614 km2 (18,384 sq mi), and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 state…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_Saxony
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lüchow-Dannenberg is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany, which is usually referred to as Hanoverian Wendland (Hannoversches Wendland) or Wendland. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the d…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lüchow-Dannenberg
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 8: “RWE CEO rejected investment in small reactors”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, as indicated by the evidence count and search results.
schedule
Claim 9: “Greens party campaigned against nuclear power in West Germany”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “Von der Leyen described the transition from nuclear energy as a 'strategic mistake'”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results indicate that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the EU's nuclear phase-out as a 'strategic mistake' in the context of energy discussions.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (German: [ˈʊʁzula ˈɡɛʁtʁuːt fɔn dɐ ˈlaɪən] ; née Albrecht; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician and physician who has served as President of the European Commission…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_von_der_Leyen
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The first von der Leyen Commission was the European Commission in office from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. It consisted of one commissioner from each of the member states of the European Union…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_der_Leyen_Commission_I
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The second von der Leyen Commission is the current European Commission, in office since 1 December 2024. It consists of one commissioner from each of the member states of the European Union – includin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_der_Leyen_Commission_II
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 11: “Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have not achieved breakthroughs”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered for this claim, as indicated by the evidence count and search results.
schedule
Claim 12: “Chernobyl prompted a rethink of nuclear energy in Germany”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 13: “Chancellor Merz stated rolling back the nuclear phase-out is not possible”
CORROBORATED
Two web search results attribute statements regarding the phase-out being 'irreversible' or a 'strategic error' to Chancellor Merz, suggesting a pattern of statements that support the claim's core idea, though the dates cited in the evidence are future/hypothetical (Jan 2026). The claim is corroborated by the pattern of reporting on his statements.
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web search NEUTRAL — Germany’s nuclear phase-out is costing factories, workers, and the climate.German Chancellor Merz called his country’s nuclear phase-out “a serious strategic mistake” in January 2026, then declared it…
https://garryslist.org/posts/merz-called-it-a-mistake-then-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says the nuclear phase-out was a strategic error that has raised energy costs and left Germany short of generation capacity. January 21, 2026.
https://www.neimagazine.com/news/germany-rethinks-nuclear-ph…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nuclear power phase-out commenced in Italy in 1987, one year after the Chernobyl disaster. Following a referendum in that year, Italy's four nuclear power plants were closed, the last in 1990.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_phase-out
schedule
Claim 14: “Fukushima led to Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 15: “SPD rejected von der Leyen's proposal to return to nuclear energy”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result mentions the SPD's stance regarding US nuclear shields, but there is no direct evidence from multiple sources confirming that the SPD specifically opposed a proposal to resume nuclear power.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Social Democrats (Slovene: Socialni demokrati, SD) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Slovenia. Led by Matjaž Han, the party was known as the United List of Social Democrats (Sl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democrats_(Slovenia)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands [zoˈtsi̯aːldemoˌkʁaːtɪʃə paʁˌtaɪ ˈdɔʏtʃlants], SPD [ɛspeːˈdeː] ) is a social democratic political party in Germa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Ger…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Social Democrats is a name used by a number of political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy. Social Democrats may refer to: Soci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democrats
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.