EU may block Polish nuclear investment, warns opposition

After a contract with American Westinghouse company to build the country’s first nuclear plant was announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the Left opposition warned that the investment could face problems due to non-compliance with EU rules.

The Warsaw government chose Westinghouse for the nuclear project, Morawiecki tweeted on Friday, praising the company for its “reliable, safe technology.” Left MEP and former Prime Minister Leszek Miller said, however, that the European Commission may question or even block the project because of non-compliance with EU rules.

“The EU law states that such investments require competition procedure,” Miller told Polsat News. There must be a few bidders in the tender, and they all must be treated equally. “If there is an American investor involved, the Commission has to exclude the investment from tenders, but this is possible provided the country has a valid reason,” he explained.

Westinghouse reportedly beat France’s EDF and South Korean state-run company Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power for the contract. The decision to sign the contract with an American company does not mean, however, that Poland rules out collaboration with other partners in nuclear projects, said government spokesman Piotr Müller.

He clarified that Poland wants to build a few nuclear plants. The government’s official plans, mentioned in Poland’s multiannual energy strategy, include building two plants. Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin is visiting Seoul today to discuss another nuclear project with South Korean partners.

Poland could appease the European Commission if the government declares that the joint project with the US was just one of several planned investments in the nuclear sector, whereas the next one would involve investors from EU countries, Miller believes.

“But the government suggests that the next investor will be from South Korea, which will certainly raise questions, why Poland continues to choose foreign investors instead of the ones from the UE.”

“If nothing changes (on the matter), our country will have serious problems, including the risk of the EU blocking the investment,” warns the MEP.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl)

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