Four Central European states urge EU to support nuclear energy
BUDAPEST Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:32am EDT  Related Topics    The
former communist countries in the eastern corner of the European
Union are reliant on gas imports, mostly from Russia, and want
to diversify their energy sources.  "We expect the European
Union to help rather than hinder the increase of nuclear
capacity in central Europe," Orban told a news conference after
the meeting.  "This area must not be over-regulated and the
issue of state aid for energy investments should also be
reviewed, because we think that nuclear energy is being
discriminated against here."  While Orban did not expand on
this, European Commissioners decided last week to exclude a
specific reference to nuclear power in an update to their
guidelines on state aid for the energy sector, expected to be
published next month.  This does not necessarily mean that using
taxpayers' money to help finance nuclear power would be illegal
under EU law, but that each case will have to be