Fico expects deal with Westinghouse next year on new Slovak nuclear power plant

Bratislava, January 14 (CTK) - Slovakia could reach an agreement next year with US company Westinghouse to build a new nuclear power plant in western Slovakia. This follows a statement today by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. Bratislava plans to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the United States on cooperation in nuclear energy as early as Friday.

"If we sign this agreement in Washington on Friday, it will pave the way for the government to begin talks with Westinghouse. A realistic timetable for a contract between Slovakia and Westinghouse is sometime next year," Fico told reporters.

Fico's cabinet today approved a draft agreement with the US to facilitate cooperation on the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant project and Slovakia's civilian nuclear program. The government did not publish the text of the agreement; it approved a document with an almost identical title last September.

The Slovak opposition has repeatedly criticized Fico's government for not planning to select a partner to build a new nuclear power source for state ownership through a public tender. It has also pointed out that the Czech Republic organized a tender for a similar project. South Korean company KHNP will build two new nuclear units at Dukovany.

Fico said that only the United States can supply Slovakia with a reactor with a planned capacity of up to 1200 megawatts. According to him, South Korea declined the Slovak project due to capacity constraints, while France does not offer a reactor with the capacity Slovakia is seeking.

The Slovak prime minister said he would like to cooperate with Russia on building a new nuclear power plant, as Russian technology is used in Slovakia's other nuclear power plants. At the same time, Fico called further cooperation with Russia in nuclear energy impossible because "the world has gone mad with hatred toward the Russian Federation".

For example, the European Union has gradually imposed various sanctions on Moscow in response to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Fico's current government has halted military aid to Kyiv from state stockpiles, and the Slovak prime minister has repeatedly criticized the EU's approach to the war in Ukraine.