Letter to Czech minister over Dukovany is not legally binding, Commission spokesperson confirms

Brussels/Prague, 13 May (CTK) - A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that a letter to Czech Industry Minister Lukáš Vlček requesting a delay in signing the contract to complete the Dukovany nuclear power plant is not legally binding. Speaking to reporters today, spokesperson Thomas Regnier also said that Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné was simply doing his job by writing it: protecting the EU internal market. In a letter dated 2 May, the French vice-president of the Commission responsible for prosperity and industrial strategy requested a delay in signing the contract to build two new nuclear units at the Dukovany plant.

"You have an executive vice-president responsible for protecting the internal market who, in this capacity, is contacting a member state. He is doing his job," the Commission spokesperson said of Séjourné.

He added that a preliminary assessment of the matter is now under way and that it is not possible to anticipate what steps will follow. Séjourné's letter also refers to the possibility of a subsequent in-depth investigation.

The spokesperson also reiterated that the relevant Commission departments sent the Czech side a request for information in February, but have yet to receive a response. The questions were sent electronically on 12 February to Czech company ČEZ and South Korea's KHNP, according to information obtained by CTK. However, only KHNP responded.

"The letter was addressed to EDU II; the Czech authorities received no letter from DG Grow on 12 February, and it is not for us to comment," Industry and Trade Ministry spokesperson Marek Vošahlík told CTK.

According to ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš, the company Elektrárny Dukovany II did not receive the letter. "No such letter from the European Commission ever arrived," he told CTK.

According to Commission spokesperson Regnier, the EU executive is now examining whether South Korea's KHNP, which won the tender, received foreign subsidies that could distort the European Union's internal market. Last week, the Regional Court in Brno also blocked the signing of the final Dukovany agreement through an interim measure, following a lawsuit by French company EDF, which was unsuccessful in the nuclear tender.

The Commission spokesperson reiterated today that the process began when French company EDF filed a complaint with the European Commission last October. The EU executive subsequently launched a preliminary review concerning compliance with the 2022 Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), which addresses subsidies that distort the internal market. "As part of this preliminary assessment, the Commission's departments sent the parties concerned, including the ČEZ Group, a letter constituting a formal request for information under the FSR. The Commission never received a response to this letter," Commission spokesperson Regnier said today.

The EU executive does not usually comment on the preliminary assessment process, he said. It can take the form of a letter, a phone call or even a bilateral meeting. "We work with our industry and our member states, and usually do not comment on this preliminary assessment until we reach a conclusion," the spokesperson said. "We need to have the full picture before deciding whether or not to take further action," he added in response to Czech journalists in Brussels.