BRUSSELS:
The EU has asked the Czech Republic to suspend signing a deal with South Korean company KHNP to build two nuclear units as it probes whether subsidies distorted competition, according to a letter seen by AFP Monday.
In the letter, EU industry Commissioner Stephane Sejourne said Brussels was gathering information to assess if KHNP received “foreign financial contributions” that tilted the playing field in its favour.
This was a preliminary move that could lead to the opening of an official investigation.
“A contract creates final facts which would jeopardise the Commission’s right to carry out its investigation effectively and its ability to ensure that entities take effective remedial action,” Sejourne wrote, asking Prague to postpone the signing.
Sejourne’s letter was sent on May 2, ahead of a signing ceremony originally planned five days later with KHNP, which won the contract last July after beating France’s EDF in the tender.
