Czech Republic

he Czech Republic is planning to seek EU assistance in defending its plans to expand its nuclear energy programme amid rising opposition from neighbouring Germany and Austria. The majority state-owned utility company CEZ is planning to build more reactors as a way to decrease the country's reliance on imported energy and take advantage of rising power prices. However, following the devastating Fukushima earthquake and subsequent nuclear crisis early in 2011, official opinion in the EU has been split over the risks and rewards of nuclear power, with Germany, Switzerland and Austria firmly in opposition and many Eastern European states remaining in the pro-camp. We do not see an easy answer to this issue and expect the nuclear question to weigh heavy over European policymakers in the coming years.

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