PM Fico in dispute with ministry over state settlement with CEZ

PM Fico in dispute with ministry over state settlement with CEZ

Bratislava, July 13 (CTK correspondent) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has clashed with the Slovak Economy Ministry over the state's approach to buying out Czech energy company CEZ's stake in a planned new nuclear power project in Slovakia, as he defended the need for a swift settlement over the weekend.

The Economy Ministry said today that the process requires sufficient time and announced talks with the government office.

The opposition said that the dispute is driven by the price of the settlement with CEZ.

Slovakia and CEZ established the joint venture Jadrova energeticka spolocnost Slovenska (JESS) in 2009 under Fico's first government with the aim of building a new nuclear power plant. Fico's current cabinet has decided that the plant will be state-owned and that the government will therefore buy CEZ's 49 percent stake in JESS. The ownership settlement is to be handled by the Economy Ministry, with the extended deadline for the process expiring on Friday.

"The Economy Ministry is responsible for ensuring that the entire process is transparent, fair and fully compliant with the law. It is therefore carrying out all the necessary expert, legal, economic and technical steps required for its successful completion. Such a process requires sufficient time and will be subject to further discussions with the government office," the Economy Ministry said today in a statement on preparations for the new nuclear power project.

Former Slovak Economy Minister Karel Hirman said earlier that consultancy EY valued CEZ's shares in the JESS joint venture at nearly EUR190m (CZK4.6bn), while CEZ in its annual report valued the stake for the same period at CZK2.4bn.

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