Overview
- A coalition led by BUND has filed a suit at the Lower Saxony Higher Administrative Court seeking review or annulment of the state permit that allowed ANF to expand fuel‑rod production with Rosatom assistance.
- Plaintiffs argue the July approval rested on an incomplete environmental‑impact screening that used outdated documents and did not fully disclose Rosatom's technical or equipment role in the project.
- Campaigners warn that Rosatom‑supplied machines were used for production and parts of quality control in Lingen, which they say raises risks of espionage, sabotage or manipulation of fuel fabrication and inspection.
- The state attached conditions to the permit, including a ban on Rosatom staff entering the plant, but the plaintiffs say those measures do not remove the fundamental security and dependency concerns.
- The court case could force tighter regulatory review of foreign ties in Germany's nuclear supply chain, touch on the EU's exclusion of the atomic sector from Russia sanctions, and affect local workers and regional oversight of the long‑running ANF/Framatome plant.