Ferrero-Waldner: only Czech government can resolve Temelin

Austria's Foreign Minister says that the issue of the Temelin nuclear power plant can only be resolved by the Czech government. Temelin, which lies just fifty kilometres from the Austrian border, has strained relations between the Czech Republic and Austria, a staunchly nuclear-free country. Austria's far right Freedom Party recently started a campaign to force the Austrian government to block Czech EU membership if the Czech government did not shut down Temelin permanently. In an interview for the Austrian daily Die Presse, Mrs Ferrero-Waldner said that although she has joined in calls for work on the plant to be halted, only the Czech government can take this step, as this is an internal Czech issue. But the Austrian Foreign Minister also warned that if Austrian safety concerns are not properly addressed, then Austria may block the completion of accession talks between the Czech Republic and the EU on the energy chapter of legislation until they are dealt with.