Monitor: PM: Slovakia's Position in Europe also depends on Strong Energy Sector

(TA3,'V politike', 11 January) The European Union is facing changes that could significantly harm Slovakia if it is not sufficiently prepared, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said on TA3's discussion programme 'V politike' (In Politics) on Sunday, adding that one of the government's priorities is therefore to have a sufficiently strong energy sector that the state can influence. "The European Union is in a terrible crisis it has never experienced before. And only those who are strong will survive, whether they are strong in terms of their economy, strong in terms of their military, or those who have great power in the field of energy," said Fico, noting that Slovakia will never be strong in terms of the size of its military. The premier is heading to Washington on Friday (16 January), where an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy with the US is to be signed. According to him, this should open up opportunities for cooperation in the field of modular nuclear reactors, but it will also open the door to a possible agreement with Westinghouse on the construction of a new nuclear power plant with a capacity of approximately 1,200 megawatts in Jaslovske Bohunice (Trnava region). Fico reiterated that if there were no anti-Russian sanctions, he would first consider an agreement with Russia on the construction of a nuclear reactor. The construction of the new nuclear unit should have been originally prepared by the Slovak Nuclear Energy Company (JESS), whose partners include the Slovak state-owned Nuclear and Decommissioning Company (JAVYS) and Czech energy company CEZ. According to the prime minister, negotiations are currently underway on the possible purchase of CEZ's 49-percent stake so that the new nuclear source would be entirely owned by the state. am