France/Poland

French expertise to help develop Poland's nuclear power

Article published on the 2009-11-05 Latest update 2009-11-05 18:38 TU

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Paris on 5 November 2009.
(Photo: Reuters)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to a new 20-year cooperation deal on Thursday. The agreement is intended to help Poland, which relies on coal for 94 per cent of its electricity, to develop its nuclear energy industry.

Under the new agreement France will help train Polish engineers, and carry out research and development.

But it is not clear whether France will be chosen as an associate in Poland’s new nuclear reactor project, although they want to identify a technology partner by 2013.

Tusk told reporters during a press conference that France had “taken a big step forward” with the agreement, but decisions on investors and partners were, “a long way ahead of us”.

PGE, the Polish state-owned utility company, will build Poland’s first plant in cooperation with a partner. Discussions have already been held with the US, Canada, South Korea and Japan.