Today, the chairmen of the so-called democratic opposition issued a joint statement in which they objected to the government’s current procedure in the tender for the construction of a nuclear reactor in Dukovany.
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Together, the presidents want the government to ensure that the choice of the company to build the reactor does not jeopardize security in the future and does not cause energy dependence on the country, which is defined for the Czech Republic and NATO.
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The key role in the preparation of the joint procedure was played by the pirate MP Jan Lipavský, who deals with the tender in detail.
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What is the common approach, why is it important?
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The Czech Republic will use a nuclear tender to enter into a partnership with a large technology company for 70-80 years and will entrust it with a budget of at least 160 billion crowns. It would be naive to think that geopolitics plays no role in this. On the contrary, it is absolutely crucial who we choose. If we choose a partner from a country that can often or even places different demands on us, it will not only corrupt us, but it can also affect our foreign policy towards a country such as Russia or China. Relations with Russia today are the worst they have ever been, and they are not very good with China. And when we look at the direction of geopolitical confrontation in general, we cannot expect those relations to ever improve. So this is an absolutely crucial and crucial decision.
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What is happening around the tender now that you need to issue joint statements?
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At the moment, the government is drastically and in a hurry to prepare a tender. They have already signed a tripartite agreement with ČEZ and Dukovany II and are now commenting on the documentation with which ČEZ will then issue a tender. According to those contracts, the state has the right to include safety comments in the documentation. I am trying to get the government to prove to the Chamber of Deputies and its committees that those security remarks are incorporated there and how they are incorporated there. Unfortunately, the statements of the highest officials, namely Andrej Babiš and Deputy Prime Minister Havlíček, have repeatedly stated that, for security reasons, they do not plan to invite anyone. This means: They want to have fun with Russia and China, and when I look at Miloš Zeman’s relations with Moscow and the activities of Martin Nejedlý, I reasonably believe that it is all tailor-made for Rosatom.
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The government, resp. The Home Office has an advisory body, a security group, as I understand it. Do you know her opinion?
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I know that this opinion is subject to the law on the protection of classified information, and I strive for it to be submitted in the Chamber of Deputies to the relevant committees, primarily to the Security Committee. However, I believe that, given the nature of the issue, this should also be addressed by the Foreign Affairs Committee. Members of the law are entitled to become acquainted with such facts. So let the government document how it assesses the safety of potential applicants and the countries they come from. Let’s not be naive, in the case of a Chinese company it is a state-owned enterprise, Rosatom is also a state-owned enterprise. Those ties to the state are absolutely key there and very close.
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This security group says it would prefer a closed rather than an open competition. This means addressing the candidate according to a security key. In fact, it would mean not addressing Russian and Chinese companies. Did this information reach you as well?
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Such information came to me. And that is why I want the documents to be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies and, above all, to the Security Committee, so that the deputies have the opportunity to get acquainted with it and assess what the government has decided and how it is actually proceeding. To explain: this is addressed by the Public Procurement Act, where CEZ insists on proceeding in accordance with Section 29a, the so-called safety exception. This is a provision commonly used by the Ministry of Defense, for example, when purchasing military technology. And the Ministry of Defense certainly does not announce an open tender for armored personnel carriers or helicopters, for example, but will address a limited circle of suppliers from reliable countries, which they will evaluate for safety. We have never had a debate about, for example, the Russian Federation supplying us with armored personnel carriers. According to the same paragraph, the government now argues that for security reasons it needs to do a tender for the core, but at the same time it addresses all bidders. It does not make sense, it is against the logic of the provision and the government is seriously risking that the contract announced in this way may be dropped at the Office, or there may be major problems with it in Brussels.
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What do you think should happen now?
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My ideal idea is that a security committee will meet, where all the documents that the government has had prepared and approved will be submitted, and then especially the Minister of Industry and Trade, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček will tell CEZ that they should not address interested in Russia and China.
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The tender documentation is currently being prepared. A source from the security community pointed out to me at least one parameter that could be used or misused to the detriment of some applicants. This is a reference parameter… That there should be a reference structure of 1000 to 1200 MW.
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Yes, there is talk that ČEZ has a requirement for a reactor up to 1200 MW in combination with the fact that the supplier should have a functional reactor as a reference construction somewhere in the world. It’s been, I guess, the last ten years. And that’s why I’m talking about tailor-made for Rosatom, because there are only two players in the world who meet this – and that’s Russian Rosatom, or Chinese CGN.
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Do you have further information that similar conditions that may be used as discriminatory would be included in the tender dossier?
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I did not see the tender documentation, I asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to provide it to me, I am waiting for an answer. Until I have the text, I do not know directly about other criteria.
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Do you know the reasons why the presidential office is involved in this matter?
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I can only assume, however, the activities of the people around Miloš Zeman or Martin Nejedlý are notoriously well-known, there is a very close connection to Moscow. Above all, I feel strong business interests there.
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Do you think that the government will accommodate you in this matter? Isn’t it more of a game that you like to fence and nothing happens?
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Andrej Babiš is under pressure from President Zeman to take certain steps. And that’s why they try to satisfy him with that core as well. At the same time, we see that Babiš’s preferences are declining and he is in real danger that he will no longer rule in this country. It puts pressure on him to rush so hard.
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Andrej Babiš can be blamed for something, but it cannot be said completely that he was pro-Russian or pro-Chinese.
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Andrej Babiš is for Andrej Babiš, he protects his empire. It is his primary interest, it governs all his motives.
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Even if. How does this relate to the core?
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It is related to the core that he wants to be prime minister as long as possible, and therefore he is very submissive towards Miloš Zeman, and that defines his political steps. But to narrow it down: do I wait to see if the government will comply or not? The government needs Parliament to pass the law (the so-called carbon law – editor’s note), so I would expect the government to need Parliament as well.
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And that is exactly the law you will discuss in the Chamber of Deputies tomorrow (Friday).
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The second reading of the carbon law will take place on Friday, and I will present my two amendments, which do not allow Russia and China to take part in the tender.
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Can you specify what the amendments are?
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The first amendment obliges the Ministry of Industry and Trade not to sign an agreement on the purchase of electricity from a low-carbon source, which will be the Dukovany II power plant, the new unit, if this would endanger the security interests of the Czech Republic. The Ministry can verify this simply by consulting with the security forces, who will give the appropriate opinion. And the second amendment states that such an agreement can only be concluded for a source that was built from technologies originating in countries that have acceded to the Multilateral Free Trade Convention within the World Trade Organization. This is a treaty that talks about signatory states opening up public contracts to each other. Given that we will raise 160 billion crowns in our nuclear tender, I think it is right that Russia and China, which completely block and do not allow our companies access to public procurement, would also not be able to participate in such a tender. Especially if there are four other possible suppliers who could build the nuclear power plant.
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How do other political parties react to this?
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When we talk about that geopolitical issue, about Russia and China, I perceive a strong unity at the level of democratic opposition parties. But I already perceive the approach as very lukewarm for those other political parties, and you can see for yourself that an extraordinary meeting on the low-carbon law was convened by the KSČM, SPD, but probably also with other signatures of CSSD deputies and YES.
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So the reason for convening this meeting is to speed up the selection process for Dukovany?
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Exactly, it goes in parallel, so that the notification of public support for the contract by the state can be initiated, so this law must be adopted. CEZ can accept the tender regardless of whether the law will be adopted or not, but of course, when bidders see that the law has been adopted, they will be more certain that the whole thing will happen. That’s why they’re in such a hurry.
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