Clarification on State aid conditions for JEDU II (Dukovany II nuclear power plant)

18.2.2025

Question for written answer  E-000736/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE)

In the light of the Commission’s decision to approve State aid for the construction of the Dukovany II nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic (SA.58207) and the related press release dated 30 April 2024[1], we would like to request clarification on the following points:

• 1.The press release states that ‘market prices provide incentives to reduce production and plan maintenance and refuelling when market prices are low’. Given that nuclear reactor fuel cycles are fixed and outages cannot be flexibly planned based on short-term market conditions, can the Commission explain on what analysis this claim is based?
• 2.According to the Bank of America report of May 2023 entitled ‘The nuclear necessity’, the real system costs of renewable energy, including grid adaptation and backup costs, are higher than those of nuclear energy. On what basis did the Commission conclude that limiting nuclear production in favour of renewables will lead to lower CO₂ emissions overall?
• 3.Who specifically on the Czech side approved the final terms of the agreement with the Commission, and was the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) obliged to accept the changes proposed by the Commission, or was there room for negotiation on alternative solutions?

Submitted: 18.2.2025

• [1] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_2366.