US Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he was worried that the Dăncilă government wants to build two new reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant with a Chinese state-owned company. Asked in a debate in the US Congress subcommittee on energy if he is worried that Romania is building the two new reactors with a Chinese public company, a few miles away from the military base Mihail Kogalniceanu, Perry said “Yes”.
Adam Kinzinger, Illinois congressman, addressed the following question to Minister Perry:
“I am worried that our Romanian allies are seriously considering doing business with China’s state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation. This week, Romania signed a preliminary agreement with the Chinese company to build two new reactors worth several billion dollars. We have American companies that want to build, but their offer was denied by the Romanian government because of China’s growing influence in Romania. To further make things worse, the two new nuclear reactors are located near the Black Sea a few miles from the base of MK (Mihai Kogălniceanu – red) where we have American soldiers. From the point of view of national security, are you worried about China’s investment in our ally’s energy infrastructure? ” Perry responded “Yes”.
The American Congressman asked Perry a new question: “How can we engage with Romania so that the selection process (at Cernavoda) be transparent and fair?”
The US Secretary of Energy said he would go to the region “in the first week of June” after meeting with Deputy Prime Minister in Brussels recently. Perry also said the US government is in “an active dialogue with our friends on some nuclear projects.”
Recall that Nuclearelectrica, the Cernavoda nuclear power plant operator (in which the Ministry of Energy is a major shareholder) and the Chinese state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), signed on May 8 the preliminary agreement to continue the construction and operation of reactors 3 and 4 at the Cernavoda center.
The Trump administration has repeatedly warned us of China’s growing political and economic influence in Europe.
Source: G4media
(TFP translation)
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *