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The European Union (EU) has requested that the Czech Republic delay signing a contract with the South Korean firm KHNP to construct two nuclear power units.
This request, outlined in a letter seen by AFP on Monday, May 12, comes as the EU investigates potential unfair competition due to subsidies KHNP may have received.
The EU Industry Commissioner Stephane Sejourne stated in the letter that Brussels is collecting information to determine if KHNP benefited from “foreign financial contributions” that gave them an unfair advantage in the bidding process. This action is a preliminary step that could lead to a formal investigation.
Sejourne urged Prague to postpone the signing, explaining that finalising the contract would hinder the EU’s ability to effectively investigate and ensure any necessary corrective measures could be taken.
The letter was sent on May 2, before a signing ceremony with KHNP that was initially scheduled for five days later. The KHNP had won the contract in July of the previous year, outbidding France’s EDF.
Adding to the delay, a Czech court last week issued an injunction, blocking the contract until a ruling is made in a lawsuit filed by EDF.
The KHNP is slated to build the two new nuclear units at the Dukovany plant in the southern Czech Republic, which is operated by the state-owned CEZ group.
Nuclear power currently accounts for 40 per cent of the Czech Republic’s electricity generation. With the addition of these two units and planned small modular reactors by 2050, the country aims to increase nuclear energy’s share to 50 per cent as it transitions away from fossil fuels.
The CEZ CEO, Daniel Benes, has urged Prague to disregard the EU’s request, telling the national news agency CTK that “the French will do everything to prevent such a power plant from being built.”
The European Commission has denied any suggestion that Commissioner Sejourne’s French nationality influenced the request.
The EU spokesman Thomas Regnier emphasised that Sejourne is acting as a member of the college, enforcing EU legislation and engaging with Czech authorities to protect the single market.
The KHNP’s bid to build the two nuclear units is approximately 200 billion Czech koruna ($9 billion) per unit. The CEZ anticipates construction to begin in 2029, with the first new reactor expected to start trial operations in 2036.
