 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
France defends Areva deal
Reichsoffen, France (AFP) Dec 3, 2009 French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Thursday hit back at charges of economic nationalism sparked by the sale of a major division of nuclear giant Areva to two French firms. State-controlled Areva plans to sell its power transmission and distribution network to Alstom and Schneider Electric, having rejected bids from Japanese and US firms. "I read in the press that we were are being accused of economic patriotism," Fillon told workers at an Alstom plant in eastern France. "I would like to clarify a few points. The selection process was perfectly transparent and non-discriminatory," he added. Fillon said the deal will "create a new French champion and frankly I am not embarrassed to take part in the creation of a new French champion." Japanese high tech giant Toshiba and US conglomerate General Electric were also bidding for the unit that generates and distributes electricity. Toshiba claims that its offer was better than the French firms' bid. The sale is estimated at 4.09 billion euros (6.13 billion dollars). President Nicolas Sarkozy has made developing France's cutting-edge nuclear industry a priority and has been keen to keep it in French hands. Areva is 92 percent owned by the French state. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
US says cannot meet deadline to screen cargo for nukesWashington (AFP) Dec 2, 2009 Top US security official Janet Napolitano on Wednesday admitted her government will fail to meet a 2012 deadline to scan all incoming ship cargo, measures designed to prevent a nuclear terror attack. The Homeland Security Secretary said she would seek an extension to Congress's deadline, citing inadequate technology and multi-billion-dollar costs involved in screening the 10 million ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook