Austria, Slovenia, Croatia discuss energy cooperation amid row over nuclear power

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann met with his Croatian and Slovenian counterparts as well as European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic on Saturday for talks on energy cooperation.

Faymann said the talks with Croatian and Slovenian Prime Ministers Zoran Milanovic and Miro Cerar were centered around "energy and economic cooperation," while Austria once again took up its position against nuclear energy, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.

The Austrian Chancellor criticized the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant that lies in Slovenia, not far from the Austrian border, saying it provides unsustainable nuclear energy.

He conceded however that Slovenia should be offered an alternative within the European Union (EU)'s energy union framework, which would provide joint research and development projects.

"The better this energy union becomes, the more convincing the alternative (will be)," he said.

Sefcovic, who also chairs the energy union, said the project "must not be of EU institutions," and the population must support it.

"The goal is that energy is safe and affordable," he said, which includes lowering the acquisition cost as well as creating "better and more intelligent networks."

Milanovic stressed the importance of the planned liquefied natural gas terminal on Krk Island in Croatia.

He said his country currently obtains 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources and would like to increase the amount, adding that there is at present no apparent alternative to nuclear energy.

Cerar said Slovenia is on "the right track" in obtaining electricity from renewable sources, and also hoped for greater integration in the EU.

"I have told Commissioner Sefcovic that the EU must champion even more innovative approaches," he said. Endi