Slovakia taps Westinghouse for major nuclear project, skips tender rules
Westinghouse 'has a product - a nuclear reactor with a power output of 1,250 megawatts - that fits our plans,' Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said over the weekend.
Economy Minister Denisa Saková confirmed the government would proceed without a tender, citing faster timelines in Poland and Bulgaria compared to Czechia, where a public procurement process took nearly four years and cost 'hundreds of millions of euros.'
An intergovernmental deal with the US has already been finalised, Saková added. While it does not technically oblige Slovakia to choose Westinghouse, it anticipates a construction contract in 2027, pending feasibility studies.
The European Commission is currently reviewing the compatibility of the draft US-Slovak deal under the Euratom Treaty, with a decision expected by the end of July, a source familiar with the file told EURACTIV Slovakia. A separate assessment will follow once the actual investment project is formally agreed, alongside additional reviews on state aid, procurement rules, and environmental compliance.
The opposition has criticised the decision to proceed without expert public consultation or debate in the National Council. Financing also remains unclear, though the government has launched a tender to select a financial advisor for the project.
(de)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euractiv
11 hours ago
- Euractiv
US trade deal doesn't touch EU tech laws, Brussels vows (again)
The European Commission said today that the bloc's landmark tech laws, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), remain untouched in an upcoming statement on the EU-US trade deal. On Tuesday, the Commission reiterated that the bloc's flagship digital laws, specifically the DSA and the DMA, will not even be mentioned in an upcoming joint statement on the EU-US trade deal, expected to be published imminently. "What we're not doing is changing our rules," said a senior EU official during a briefing for journalists on the upcoming trade agreement. "None of the things are touched," the official also emphasised, referencing the DSA and DMA. The sister regulations were only formally adopted by the EU back in 2022 and it's fair to say that enforcement (especially of the DSA) remains a work in progress. In an interview with Euractiv earlier this week, the European Parliament's top trade lawmaker, Bernd Lange, warned that "there is a risk" that EU digital laws could be scrapped to appease the US administration. President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly attacked foreign laws which take aim at US tech giants as unfair digital taxes. But speaking to Euractiv on Tuesday, German EPP lawmaker Andreas Schwab, who was the rapporteur of the DMA, said he's not worried – predicting, on the contrary, that "confirmations" the Commission has given parliamentarians "will be upheld". "Digital to legislation is part of European Regulatory Competition Policy. It's in the interest of everyone, also of American companies," he went on, before further emphasising "there is no change in the application of rules just because of trade policy issues." Despite the repeated assurances of the Commission's commitment to the digital rulebook, US counterparts have continued to put out polar opposite claims. In interview on CNBC last week, US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, said that the EU's digital services taxes and 'attack' on US tech firms was still 'on the table.' The DSA, which regulates harmful content online, has also been repeatedly attacked by Republican lawmakers. Most recently, a US delegation led by MAGA politician Jim Jordan, visited Brussels after releasing a report branding the law a "censorship" tool. Likewise, Meta's Joel Kaplan (an ex-Republican politician) has slammed the DMA, the bloc's Big Tech regulation, as an attempt to "handicap successful American businesses." (nl)
Euractiv
12 hours ago
- Euractiv
Sweden follows the Netherlands in sending multi-million military package to Ukraine
Sweden will send around €238 million worth of equipment to Ukraine, including Patriot missiles and anti-tank ammunition, Swedish Defence minister Pål Johnson announced on Tuesday. The pledge is part of a broader €433 million package jointly coordinated with Denmark and Norway that includes US-made Patriot missile systems and other advanced munitions, largely sourced from existing European stockpiles. The initiative follows a new arrangement under which European allies cover the cost of US defence equipment sent to Kyiv. To accelerate delivery, Washington has promised rapid backfilling of donated systems, though logistical implementation may prove complex. The announcement comes a day after the Netherlands said it would send Patriot systems to Ukraine. Germany is also expected to deliver additional Patriot launchers in the coming days. 'We welcome the US decision to provide equipment to Ukraine, including ammunition for the Patriot air defence system, and that NATO is coordinating the support,' Johnson told the press on Tuesday. Sweden's contribution includes Patriot missiles, HIMARS rocket ammunition, artillery for vehicles and maintenance equipment. The country acquired the US-made Patriot PAC-3 missile defence system in 2021. 'The defence equipment should be available to Ukraine next month', the Swedish defence minister added. Denmark will contribute around €71 million and has expressed willingness to provide more if needed. 'If Ukraine requires additional support later, we are open to considering it,' Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. Norway has not yet detailed its share of the package. Countries expressing interest in contributing to the joint effort include Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, and Canada, according to NATO chief Mark Rutte. Charles Szumski contributed to reporting. (ap, cs)
Euractiv
12 hours ago
- Euractiv
Banned Russian media sites ‘still accessible' across EU, report finds
Websites of banned Russian media outlets can still be easily accessed across the EU in the "overwhelming majority" of cases, experts said Tuesday, denouncing the bloc's "failure" to publish full lists of the websites involved. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media from broadcasting in the bloc, including online, to counter "disinformation".But more than three years on, "sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible" across member states, said a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank."Russian state media continues to maintain a strong online presence, posing a persistent challenge to Western democracies," the report said, with blocks by internet service providers "largely ineffective". EU sanctions banned RT, previously known as Russia Today, and Sputnik media organisations as well as other state-controlled media accused of "information warfare". The ISD report covered Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, testing the top three internet service providers in each. It identified 26 media under sanctions and tried to view 58 associated domains. In 76% of tests, providers failed to block access. EU member states are responsible for ensuring blocks are applied by internet service providers. But the ISD report criticised the European Commission for its "failure" to maintain a "definitive list of different domain iterations" – or website addresses – associated with each media outlet. It said this left countries and internet service providers "without the guidance needed for effective and targeted implementation". "The issue is when they sanction Russian state media, they mention the outlet that they are sanctioning – so Russia Today, Sputnik, etc – but what they don't list is what domain falls under this entity," said the report's author, Pablo Maristany de las Casas. "If the European Commission were to list the different domains that are known to be linked to these entities, that would make it much easier for member states and the internet service providers in those member states to enforce these blocks," he said. The report urged the EC to post a "continuously updated and publicly accessible list" and include it in sanctions packages and on its online sanctions dashboard. A Commission spokesperson told AFP: "It is up to the relevant providers to block access to websites of outlets covered by the sanctions, including subdomains or newly created domains." Grey zone and mirrors Enforcement needs to be more agile because Russia has sought to circumvent sanctions, the report's author said. "Some outlets, for example, RT, use so-called mirror domains" where they "simply copy the contents of the blocked site into a new URL – a new link – to circumvent those sanctions," he said. The report found that Slovakia, whose Prime Minister Robert Fico is known for his pro-Russia positions, performed the worst on enforcement, with no blocks at all. Slovakia's legal mandates to block pro-Russian websites expired in 2022 after lawmakers failed to extend them. Poland was the second worst, while France and Germany were most effective overall. Most sanctioned domains had little traction in the bloc, with under 1,000 monthly views, but Germany, with its large Russian diaspora, was the exception: three domains including RT had over 100,000 monthly visitors from there. The report's author spotted another "loophole": numerous accounts on X posting links to banned media, mainly aimed at French and German speakers. In May, such accounts posted almost 50 thousand links, almost all to RT-affiliated sites, the report found. X largely blocks official media accounts, the author said, but "with these anonymous accounts that only repost this kind of content, there seems to be a grey zone and it seems not be withheld in the EU."
