The Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Four countries (Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic) do not want the European Commission to have stronger powers in the field of nuclear safety. At their meeting on Budapest on Monday they agreed on a common position on the proposal to amend the Nuclear Safety Directive, by which the European Commission wants to increase nuclear safety in the European Union and minimize risks of a possible nuclear disaster.
“We cannot imagine that the European Commission would assume major powers in the field of nuclear safety; this belongs to national sovereignty and to the relevant international organizations. Such a transfer of powers would lead to further politicization of this area,” the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said after the meeting.
According to him, Slovakia rejects the politicization of electricity generation in nuclear facilities, which he began to perceive at EU level. “We respect the countries that do not use nuclear energy, but we expect that these countries respect the fact that we do use nuclear energy. Every country has the right to choose such an energy mix as it deems proper,” he said. His Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban added that: “We all support nuclear energy. It is an important matter and even in the future the European economy cannot do without it.” According to Orban, each country has the right to generate energy from sources that suit its specifications. The EU cannot regulate this area too much, he added. Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed on mutual support in the energy sector.
