The Czech and Austrian prime ministers met last night for talks over CEZ’s nuclear Temelin plant, which has been long opposed by the Austrian government. The two prime ministers agreed that both countries would respect the nuclear safety standards which are to be set by the European Commission’s nuclear-power body, yet to be established. Zeman said that Temelin would be halted should it not meet the future EU safety criteria. On the other hand, Temelin’s compliance with the future EU-wide safety standards would mean the end of vocal and assertive Austrian opposition to the plant. In the meantime, EC commissioner Guenther Verheugen will act as an intermediary between the Czech and Austrian governments. Given that the EC did not have a problem with the Temelin plant in the past, we do not expect the formulation of EU-wide safety standards to result in Temelin’s closure. Nonetheless, the market may get nervous about the Czech PM explicitly and for the first time allowing for the possibility, no matter how distant, of Temelin’s closure. Moreover, there is a danger that CEZ privatization could get complicated should uncertainty about Temelin persist over time.
(Ondřej Daťka)