Overview
- A Letter of Intent announced Thursday between the government and ENGIE set exclusive negotiations on a possible takeover of seven reactors, related subsidiaries, staff, and all assets and liabilities.
- The government paused dismantling at closed units to keep the option to extend licenses or restart reactors that were taken off the grid between 2022 and 2025.
- Only two of Belgium's seven reactors still produce electricity as the country unwinds a 2003 phase-out that parliament voted to end last year.
- ENGIE said a basic agreement is targeted for October 2026, with financing, waste liabilities, and license approvals still to be settled.
- Leaders cast the shift as reducing dependence on imported gas after recent energy price shocks in Europe, reflecting a wider EU turn back toward nuclear power.