EU partially responsible for the return to nuclear power

Slovakia lacks energy due to the gas dispute, and now wants to restart the nuclear reactor in Jaslovské Bohunice. The left-leaning daily die tageszeiting says that the EU is partially responsible: "Before acceding to the EU the Slovakian population and government had long been reluctant to close down the reactor in Jaslovské Bohunice. They were worried that otherwise they would be too dependent for their energy on the hated former hegemonial power Russia. Western European politicians, by contrast, made the country's EU accession dependent on their closing down the reactor, because they mistrusted the security standards of reactors in the East. That is legitimate. But when the spokesman for Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs now suggests that the Czechs should curb their industrial production, it just sounds cynical. The economic situation is difficult enough without energy problems to boot. If Brussels isn't able to pump sufficient gas into Slovakian pipes by the weekend, Bohunice will go back on grid. And the EU Commission will not dare to press charges."

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