Economy Ministry Seeks Further JESS Ownership Analysis, Access to Data Denied

Bratislava, 13 July (TASR) - Even though the Economy Ministry intended to arrange for another independent appraisal of the planned acquisition of shares held by Czech company CEZ in the Slovak Nuclear Energy Company (JESS), the JESS Board of Directors on 29 June failed to approve the release of data required for this, the ministry announced on Monday, adding that further negotiations are necessary. According to the ministry, an independent appraisal was supposed to be provided under an existing contract concluded by JAVYS in connection with the provision of financial advisory services. The ministry stated in a press release that "[its] duty is to adopt a decision only after carefully evaluating all available supporting documents". The ministry has also prepared a proposal to declare the new nuclear source project a strategic investment, hoping to submit it to the government for discussion when the settlement of ownership in JESS is completed. Its approval will lay the groundwork for continuing the project preparations for building a new nuclear source at the Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant, which is a priority for the ministry. "The ministry is responsible for ensuring that the entire process takes place transparently, fairly and fully in accordance with the law. For this reason, the ministry is taking all the expert, legal, economic and technical steps necessary to implement it successfully. Such a procedure takes some time and will be the subject of further negotiations with the Government Office," stated the ministry. On 10 June, the ministry received a new deadline from the government - 10 July of this year - to settle Slovakia's ownership stakes in JESS. In a video posted on social media on Saturday (11 July), Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated that he wouldn't agree to a further extension of the deadline. "The settlement with the Czech co-owner must take place within a short period of time and be based on an expert opinion from a renowned foreign auditing company so that we can move on in negotiations regarding the contractor for a modern 1,200 MW reactor," he said. JESS is a joint venture between Slovak state-owned JAVYS, which holds a 51 percent stake, and Czech energy group CEZ, which owns the remaining 49 percent. The government intends to gain full state control over the new nuclear power plant project. In the past, CEZ has invested some €130 million in JESS as registered capital. jrg/df