Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and his seven Deputy Prime Ministers will meet at 15:30 today (Monday) to discuss a deal with energy company Engie – which hints that a deal about the renewal of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear power plants is as good as done.
On Sunday, the party leader of the Francophone liberal MR party, Georges-Louis Bouchez, stated that an agreement with Engie was "only a matter of hours away," which led to expectations that the company might make a deal public before the opening of the stock exchange. However, even today (Monday), further negotiations were still taking place.
"They are very close to an agreement, but legally the loose ends still need to be tied up," De Standaard reports, citing several government sources. Initially, the intention was to have an agreement in place by 31 December, but that proved too tight. After New Year, intensive meetings continued throughout the week.
The Federal Government wants Doel 4 and Tihange 3 to be available by the end of 2026 (after a pause in 2025), but this will only be possible if preparatory studies and works for the lifetime extension are started quickly. Among other things, Engie must submit a dossier to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) and prove that the nuclear plants can safely remain open.
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However, Engie refuses to start that process without a binding agreement with the De Croo government, as the company said that it would be too great a financial risk. In the past, the cost of the whole operation has been estimated at around €1 billion, De Morgen reports.
Any agreement must be submitted to the Federal Government for approval, as the financial implications are massive; De Croo has already convened the government summit at 15:30. Engie and the government are very close to an agreement, but it is not yet a done deal.
