Czechs ignore protests over nuclear plant

PRAGUE (Reuters) -- Czech officials said on Thursday they were going ahead with the launch of a nuclear power plant about 50 km (31 miles) from Austria, despite growing protests from their nuclear-free neighbour.

Director of the Temelin power plant, Frantisek Hezoucky, told a news conference the state-controlled utility, CEZ, expected to apply for fuel activation around September 20 and would go ahead, if allowed by local regulators, regardless of foreign pressure.

The European Parliament is due to discuss a resolution calling for the launch to be delayed pending further assessments of the environmental impact.

But Hezoucky said any decisions by the European Parliament would not get in the way.

"It bothers us that the European Parliament is voting on something it does not have a clue about."

CEZ has slipped slightly behind schedule having originally planned to launch on September 15. Hezoucky said the delay was caused by a minor leakage, which has been fixed, and insisted there were no significant problems in the testing process.

Austria wants the Czechs to scrap the project or at least allow for new security checks. It has warned that if they do not comply, Czech negotiations on membership of the European Union could be affected.

The Czechs insist the Soviet-designed power station, equipped with a U.S. control system, is safe and say they have provided sufficient information to experts in Austria and Germany, as well as the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.

Thousands of Austrian protesters staged a protest on the border last weekend and plan to block several border crossings with the Czech Republic again on Friday.

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