The energy ministry has sent an urgent message to the Belgian government regarding its decision to delay phasing out nuclear energy by ten years as Europe is trying to find ways to exit Russian oil and gas dependence.

The announcement came ahead of a meeting of the International Energy Agency (IEA) on 23 and 24 March in Paris which will feature energy and climate ministers including Turmes and environment minister Carole Dieschbourg (déi Gréng).

Luxembourg had already clashed with its neighbour in 2020 when Belgian nuclear waste authority Ondraf drew up a plan for disposing radioactive waste near its border with the grand duchy. Dieschbourg then spoke out against the decision saying that the report failed to assess the cross-border effects of geological storage.

The grand duchy is a staunch opponent of nuclear energy, even though it draws around 10% of its electricity from this source. It recently said all reactors at the Cattenom nuclear power plant just across the border in France should be after French authorities detected problems at one reactor.

It has lobbied against extending the lifespan of Cattenom and most recently suggested it would join a against an EU sustainable finance taxonomy that classifies nuclear energy as green, thereby encouraging potential investment in power plants.