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Slovakia postpones nuclear reactor restart: PM
Bratislava (AFP) Jan 13, 2009 The Slovak government has postponed its decision to reactivate a Soviet-era nuclear reactor that was recently shut down for security reasons, Prime Minister Robert Fico said Tuesday. "We are able to keep the energy network stabilised for several days. We will use this time to inform our partners but I still consider reviving this unit as very relevant and urgent," Fico said. "If the critical situation comes, we will certainly make this decision," he added. Slovakia began preparing to reactivate the outdated reactor over the weekend in a bid to avert an energy crisis with Russian gas supplies cut due to the stand-off between Russia and Ukraine. Slovakia, a former communist country, closed the Soviet-type VVER-440/230 reactor at the Jaslovske Bohunice plant northwest of the capital Bratislava on December 31 to meet a pledge given to the EU before accession in May 2004. The European Commission has repeatedly warned that the crisis over Russian gas supplies to Europe was not sufficient grounds to relaunch the reactor and threatened legal action if Bratislava went ahead. "Everything is being done by the commission to find a rapid solution to the gas crisis but the commission services have already started preparations for a... decision to launch an infringement procedure," spokesman Ferran Tarradellas told journalists in Brussels. He warned that relaunching the reactor would violate the treaties Slovakia signed to join the European Union in 2004. "We are having an intense dialogue with the European Commission," Fico acknowledged, adding that Slovakia was ready to receive international experts to assess the state of the nuclear reactor. With Russian gas deliveries to EU countries cut, the dispute between Moscow and Kiev has strengthened interest in alternatives to Russian supplies, including nuclear energy. Hopes that the gas shipments to Europe would resume were dashed on Tuesday as Ukraine admitted blocking the flow, accusing Gazprom of imposing "unacceptable" conditions for its transit through Ukraine to European customers. "Our pessimistic expectations regarding stabilised gas supplies in the next few days are coming true, the gas war between Russia and Ukraine is still going on," Fico said. The country started preparatory work on the Jaslovske relaunch on Saturday as the Czech EU presidency was struggling to hammer out a deal on restoring deliveries from Russia via Ukraine. "The preparatory works have been completed, we are ready on the technical level", said Fico. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Slovakia tests EU's patience with nuclear plant relaunch plan
Bratislava (AFP) Jan 12, 2009Slovakia is keeping the European Union on tenterhooks with its plan to reactivate an outdated nuclear reactor in a bid to avert an energy crisis after gas pipelines from Russia dried up. |
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