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Opinion
March 2, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
In particular, in November CEZ confirmed reports it is considering selling all or part of its engineer- ing/procurement/construction (EPC) arm Skoda Praha and is in talks with several interested par- ties, which reportedly include Rosatom. Analysts say buying this division would put the acquirer in a strong position to win any nuclear supply deal in the Czech Republic.
“We’ve always known that the preference is for Russia,” says one diplomatic source in Prague. “The decision in the end will be political.”
While Rosatom is odds-on favourite to win any nuclear supply deal should the Czechs succeed in getting exemptions to the tender rules or if they opt for a direct government-to-government deal, diplomatic sources in Prague warn that the Euro- pean commission is unlikely to be as relaxed over the issue as it was with the Hungarians.
Two of the Czech Republic’s neighbours – Germany and Austria –happen to be two of the most powerful EU members that strongly oppose any expansion of nuclear power in Europe. Austria has already launched a lawsuit following the commission’s climbdown over Paks, and, unlike Hungary, the Czech Republic is already one of Europe’s biggest power exporters, so the new reactors will be much more high profile.
There are also security fears in Brussels
about the growing influence of Russia in the Czech Republic, which under its State Energy Policy (SEP) for the development of nuclear energy, approved in 2015, will see nuclear power become the main source of electricity production as ageing coal-fired power plants are phased out over the coming decades, with its share rising above 50% by 2040. Rosatom is already the exclusive supplier of fuel for the Temelin nuclear plant until 2020.
“Projects such as Nord Stream 2, or Russian energy activities in Serbia, the Czech Republic and Hungary keep the Euroatlantic counter- intelligence community awake at night,” says Jakub Janda, deputy director of the Prague- based European Values think-tank.
However, overshadowing all these different moving parts is the lack of government in the Czech Republic. “Everything is complicated by the negotiations going on about forming
a government between the political parties, which will have to be approved by parliament,” says Stuller.
This means there is every possibility of further delays to this process, but an eventual Russian win is looking likelier by the day.