Greenpeace files complaint to European Commission against Slovak process for choosing nuclear partner

Brussels / Bratislava, International — Greenpeace today filed a complaint to the European Commission against the Slovak State. Greenpeace alleges that the way the Czech energy giant CEZ was selected to be the strategic partner in the construction of a new nuclear power station in Bohunice, Slovakia, is in breach of European public procurement legislation.(1) No public tender was set up to select a strategic partner in the project.(2)

Notes to Editor

(1) See Directive 2004/17/EC.
(2) Slovakia intends to build new nuclear capacity in Bohunice, where the Italian utility ENEL currently owns two nuclear reactors. Slovakia closed down one reactor in 1977, after a meltdown accident, and two reactors that could not be upgraded to acceptable safety levels in 2006 and 2008. The new project is being set up by Slovak state utility JAVYS. CEZ was chosen to become a 49% partner in the project. The Slovak Government has announced that it will sign the contract for this deal at the forthcoming European Nuclear Forum meeting in Prague on 29 May 2009.

Contact information

• Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace EU dirty energy policy campaigner, Brussels:
  +32 2 274 1921, +32 477 790 416 (mobile), e-mail: jan.haverkamp@greenpeace.org
  Andrea Zlatnanska, Greenpeace Slovakia, Bratislava:
  +421 905 745 879, email: andrea.zlatnanska@greenpeace.sk
  Mark Breddy, Greenpeace EU communication manager, Brussels:
  +32 2 274 1903, +32 496 156 229 (mobile), email: mark.breddy@greenpeace.org