Rebellion against “green nuclear power” – Handelsblatt Morning Briefing

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Ursula von der Leyen owes her position at the head of the EU Commission largely to French President Emmanuel Macron. He should have been pleased when the German recently classified nuclear power, which is popular in France, as “sustainable” in addition to gas – in anticipation of the planned “taxonomy”. This should finally fix which investments are “green”.

Now, of all people, the “Platform for Sustainable Finance” group of experts set up by the EU Commission is sounding the alarm about Brussels’ gas and nuclear plans. Nuclear power plants are a burden on bodies of water – and there is no circular economy because nuclear waste cannot be recycled.

In addition, the group wants to lower the limit for emissions from gas-fired power plants to 100 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour. 270 grams are enough for the EU. Expert Sebastien Godinot from the environmental organization WWF: “The Commission must listen to science and give up its proposal to wash gas and nuclear energy green.” More and more people in the EU Parliament now believe that.

In the scandal surrounding the pulverized ex-Dax group Wirecard, the financial regulator Bafin gave the impression of an underperformer, something between sleepy and tired. Now the FDP of Finance Minister Christian Lindner has identified too close an exchange between the authority and the ministry as a major problem: “Of course, important things have to be reported to the ministry, but not every little thing,” State Secretary Florian Toncar explained to my colleagues. “The Bafin should be a decision-making authority that does not have to constantly protect itself.”

The news will be welcomed by Bafin boss Mark Branson, 53, who has been in charge since August 2021. He has upped the ante in the supervision of ailing financial institutions like the smartphone bank N26 – and is pushing the fight against money laundering. With toughness he has earned more freedom.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) sometimes seems after a few weeks as if his new job is getting too much for him. Perhaps Volkes Liebling should prove that he is the talk show king a little less intensively. Yesterday at the Corona summit, he received severe criticism from prime ministers like Volker Bouffier (CDU): “This behavior destroyed a lot of trust, not just for me.”

Finally, on January 14, Lauterbach assured the federal states in the Bundesrat that they would be informed in good time of any change in the status of those who had recovered. A few hours later, the Robert Koch Institute announced that you were only considered recovered for three months after an infection and no longer for six months. Lauterbach apologized in the federal-state group that he himself had been informed late.

The result: Bouffier and others now want it in writing that the minister informs about important changes 14 days in advance.

One of the unforgettable acts of ex-Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier (CDU) is that he stopped the KfW loans for energy-efficient buildings, but allowed a period of three months until the end of January. That invited every home builder to take it home, overwhelmed KfW – and is now getting the green successor Robert Habeck to abruptly stop all state subsidies for energy-saving houses. Its officials believe that the underlying energy saving classes have become standard.

Axel Gedaschko, head of the central association of the housing industry, railed that the government’s goal of 400,000 new apartments per year was now obsolete: “The decision is a disaster for everyone who is committed to affordable and sustainable housing.”

The biggest test for Catholics these days is their own church. Your pop star of the past, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose real name is Joseph Ratzinger, has to admit a false statement – which baffles believers and non-believers alike. One could have imagined a Marian apparition sooner. The former Archbishop of Munich Ratzinger had assured the examiners of abuse cases in three places that he had not attended a meeting of the Ordinariate on January 15, 1980.

That day was about the – completed – admission of a pedophile, delinquent priest in Ratzinger’s riding. The experts presented evidence of Benedikt’s presence and he apologized: Nothing “happened out of bad faith”, everything was just the “result of an error in the editorial processing of his statement.” This is the classic case for a hearing confession.

And then there is the financial equalization, the magical thing to level out material differences in Germany. Around 17 billion euros were redistributed in 2021. Most of it, nine billion, came from wealthy Bavaria, whose Prime Minister saw himself as Chancellor with a feeling of strength. After the other donor states of Baden-Württemberg (four billion) and Hesse (3.6 billion), Rhineland-Palatinate (287 million) now also appears in this league.

The country has risen to the club of the rich thanks to the incredible profits and trade taxes from Biontech in Mainz. North Rhine-Westphalia does not give more, but receives 200 million. Everyone can immediately answer the question of the largest recipient country: Berlin with 3.6 billion euros. The poor-but-sexy capital is taking its toll.
Oscar Wilde would have liked that: “The average gives the world its substance, the extraordinary its value.”

I wish you an extraordinary day, even if no one makes financial compensation for you.

Best regards
Her

Hans Jürgen Jakobs

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