EU hasn’t expressed official position for or against development of Khmelnytsky NPP, it’s up to Ukraine to decide – Mathernova

Whether or not Ukraine builds additional nuclear capacity is the decision of Ukrainian authorities, the European Union has not expressed an official position on the issue, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said.

"The EU has not expressed an official position either for or against the building of the new Khmelnytsky NPP [Nuclear Power Plant] units. I made that clear in my interview with European Pravda back in December. The decision whether to build the new NPP blocks is for Ukrainian authorities to make," she said in response to a written request from the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency.

The ambassador added that there is no clear consensus among EU member states on the issue of developing new nuclear generation capacity.

According to Mathernova, Ukraine should not count on financing the development of nuclear power plants from the EU or its financial institutions.

"Currently, the EU does not finance the development of nuclear power plants. That applies also to NPPs in Ukraine. And that is the case also for the financing by European financial institutions," she said.