As the European Union moves toward approving a power price deal for new reactors at the UK's Hinkley Point plant, Austria has threatened a court challenge to prevent the project from moving forward.
EDF plans to build two Areva EPR units at the plant, and the British government reached a deal with the company last year guaranteeing a minimum price for their power for 35 years. That prompted an investigation by the European Union that recently found the deal did not violate EU rules on competition and state subsidies.
Approval from EU commissioners in expected soon. Should that happen, Austrian politicians said they would file a suit in the European Court of Justice seeking to reverse the decision. The country's environment minister described the deal as a scandal that Austria would fight in an Austrian newspaper last week. And a spokesman for the Austrian chancellor told Reuters Sunday that the country was prepared to file the suit against the European Commission. He and the vice chancellor said they believe that nuclear power does not deserve the subsidies offered to alternative energy, and that the decision would set a bad precedent. EDF, meanwhile, told the Somerset County Gazette that the state-aid investigation was thorough, and that the new reactors serve EU objectives of producing low-carbon energy and creating jobs.