The ANO movement, Czechia’s largest opposition party and currently leading in the polls, has vowed to honor the results of the international tender that awarded South Korea’s KHNP the contract to construct new nuclear reactors at Dukovany, should it return to power.
The pledge comes amid mounting frustration over the Fiala government’s failure to finalize the deal, which has been blocked by a preliminary injunction from the Regional Court in Brno and further complicated by scrutiny from the European Commission.
Karel Havlíček, the shadow prime minister and former industry and trade minister in ANO leader Andrej Babiš’s previous government, stated on Wednesday that the delay, originally caused by a court-ordered pause in early May, was “a disgrace” and accused the current administration of botching relations with both South Korea and France.
He stressed that ANO would proceed with the project, but with a firmer diplomatic and legal footing.
“We respect the results of the tender, but we do not understand why the risks were underestimated in this way,” Havlíček said. “Either the government should have signed the contract immediately after the April decision by the Office for the Protection of Competition, or it should have waited for the court ruling,” he told Echo24.
The project, valued in the billions of euros, was awarded to KHNP after a competitive tender in which France’s EDF was unsuccessful. However, the French company initiated legal proceedings that led to the Regional Court in Brno blocking the contract’s signing with a preliminary measure.
This further led last week to the European Commission formally asking Czechia to postpone finalizing the contract with KHNP, citing concerns over foreign subsidies that could violate EU internal market rules.
Havlíček criticized the government for failing to engage seriously with France after EDF launched legal action. “There should have been negotiations with the French at the government level — by the minister or prime minister — and diplomatic efforts to prevent what has happened now,” he said. “EDF’s approach may not suit us, but it is certainly not unexpected.”
While ANO has pledged to follow through on the KHNP deal if elected, Havlíček said the process must also involve closer coordination with Czech courts and EU institutions, particularly the European Commission, which has begun an in-depth investigation into whether KHNP benefited from prohibited foreign subsidies.
Daniel Beneš, CEO of ČEZ, which oversees the Dukovany project, warned that while KHNP’s bid remains valid through June, the delay adds risk. “We have no indications from the Korean side that they do not want to extend their offer, and we will certainly ask for an extension. At the moment, we can see their determination not to give up. However, it will not last forever,” Beneš told Czech Radio.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala has maintained that the courts will resolve the dispute swiftly. Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný, of the Christian Democrats, insisted that KHNP’s offer was “clearly more advantageous in all parameters” and that every effort was being made to sign the contract as soon as legally possible.
“The French competitor receives all its contracts on the basis of government-to-government deals, so it was probably a slightly different role for it in the competition,” Výborný said. “But I don’t see any disadvantage in the competition. On the contrary, we got the best final price for Czech consumers.”
Despite broad agreement among the governing Czech coalition that the KHNP deal should go ahead, the legal block imposed by the court and the Commission’s intervention have fueled speculation in Prague that France is trying to reverse its tender defeat through backdoor means.
Energy expert Martin Jirušek of Masaryk University cautioned against jumping to conclusions, though he acknowledged the timing of the Commission’s letter, sent by French Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, raised questions. “The fact that EDF has strong support from French state officials is nothing new or surprising,” he said. “But we should only speak to what is provable.”
Speaking at the “reVize Česka” (ReVision Czechia) conference in Prague on Monday, Czech President Petr Pavel spoke candidly about the delay, warning that meddling from the European Commission and ongoing legal action risked derailing the project.
“The efforts of France, not only EDF, but the whole of France to intervene very significantly in the process may lead not only to a relatively large delay, but in the worst case to the freezing and paralysis of the entire project,” he warned. He said such a scenario would not only cause billions in losses but also raise “existential problems as to where to get energy from in the future.”
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