Vlček: Czech ministry received no official EC letter on delaying Dukovany contract signing

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) has received no official letter from the European Commission (EC) regarding a delay to the signing of the contract for the construction of new nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant with tender winner KHNP. On Monday, 5 May, it received only a courtesy letter from French European Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné. Industry and Trade Minister Lukáš Vlček (STAN) told ČTK today. Vlček intends to respond to Séjourné's letter today. According to him, KHNP also offered the best price and guarantees.

Séjourné sent the letter to Vlček before the Regional Court in Brno issued an interim measure based on a lawsuit by French company EDF, which was unsuccessful in the nuclear tender. The court's measure blocked the signing of the final agreement with South Korean company KHNP on Dukovany.

According to the letter to Vlček, the EC is asking Czechia to postpone the signing of the contract for the construction of two new nuclear units at Dukovany. It is examining whether the Korean company KHNP received foreign subsidies that could distort the European Union's internal market.

"I can confirm that on Monday, 5 May, I received a courtesy letter from French Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, to which I will send my courteous response today. Therefore, we have received nothing official from the European Commission, no European Commission proceedings have been initiated, and no meeting has yet taken place with DG GROW, which the French European Commissioner represents. Regarding the Dukovany tender, I can only reiterate that KHNP offered the best price, including warranties and a guarantee of timely construction," Vlček said.

According to Vlček, the tender was held under the so-called security exemption, in accordance with European rules and before the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation came into force. Séjourné's letter was not the EC's position either, according to Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS); in his view, it was merely the opinion of the French European Commissioner.

An EC spokesperson also confirmed that a courtesy letter concerning the rules of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) had been sent in connection with the South Korean bidder in the tender for new reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. "The letter does not express concerns about the procedure itself, but about a specific bidder under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation rules," the EC spokesperson replied to a ČTK query. "As is common practice with such letters, the courtesy letter was sent by European Commission Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné in his capacity as the member of the College of Commissioners responsible for the single market portfolio," the spokesperson added, saying that Commission services are currently assessing the possibility of an in-depth investigation.

KHNP succeeded in the nuclear tender last year, with the government preferring its bid to those of EDF and Westinghouse. The first unit at Dukovany is due to be completed in 2036. The construction of new nuclear units in Czechia is expected to be the largest domestic contract in history. At current prices, the cost of the currently preferred construction of two reactors at Dukovany is CZK 407 billion.