LONDON, May 10, (WEBNOVINY) — During her visit to the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova visited the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) this Tuesday, where she lobbied for additional funds to decommission the V1 Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power plant. “I welcome the support for future financial prospects for further resources, which we’ll need to complete the process,” said Radicova after meeting EBRD President Thomas Mirow. He, however, did not disclose how much of the 425 million euro that Slovakia still needs for the decommissioning of the plant the bank would provide.
EBRD funds will depend on the financial perspective of the 2014 – 2020 EU budget. In addition, other European countries, mostly Bulgaria and Lithuania, will compete for funds to decommission their nuclear plants as well. “As long as the discussion on the financial perspective is not closed, it is premature to discuss the EBRD decision. Two other countries will have the same interest; we will negotiate at both the EU level and with the EBRD,” Radicova told reporters. In total, decommissioning of V1 Jaslovske Bohunice will cost Slovakia an additional 1.15 billion euro.
Further funds are reserved for the JEREMIE project, which should support small and medium businesses. According to Radicova, these funds should be designated above all for companies active in the field of research and development.
After meeting Slovak prime minister, Mirow praised the successes that Slovakia achieved during its transformation. “Slovakia managed to deal with the crisis much better than other countries in the region,” he said.
Slovak experts on transition will be able to obtain some further EBRD funds: they could use them to share their knowledge and experience with countries in northern Africa. Yet Radicova admitted that this part of the world faces different types of problems than Slovakia during its transition to a democratic market economy, and projects will have to be adjusted. “We are aware of where countries with 70 percent illiteracy rates are,” said Radicova, who plans to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, over EU financing later in the afternoon.
SITA special correspondent