PARIS, September 21, (WEBNOVINY) — Prime Minister Robert Fico used his official visit to Paris on Thursday, where he met with French President Francois Hollande, also for negotiations with representatives of Areva and Peugeot Citroen. As the prime minister explained later, the main topic of talks with representatives of Areva was Slovakia’s intention to build a new nuclear unit at Jaslavske Bohunice, in which Areva is interested. The Slovak Prime Minister was interested in the project Allegro, within which France wants to build a prototype of a new and more efficient and safer nuclear reactor. The project is considered in one of three Central European countries – Slovakia, Hungary, or the Czech Republic. „Slovakia as a country that has vast experience with nuclear power and of course will seek to win for itself this project in the future,“ said Fico.
Prime Minister Fico then attended a meeting with representatives of Peugeot Citroen. Given the situation in France, where the company plans to lay off thousands of employees, he wanted to know in this context the company’s plans for its assembly plant in Trnava, Slovakia. „It appears unnecessary to worry about what will happen in Trnava, because advantages of Trnava are incomparable with other factories in Europe. Especially in terms of quality, the ability of people to adapt, but the very environment that is in Slovakia, “ Fico said. He noted that in France, compared with Slovakia the corporate tax rate is much higher, over 30 percent. „Then it’s no wonder that investors find it worthwhile do business in the Slovak Republic,“ Fico said. He welcomed assurances from Peugeot officials who confirmed to him that changes to the Slovak Labor Code do not fundamentally change the business environment. He concluded that the prospects of automotive production in Trnava are bright, because it would be difficult for the company to find a comparable factory where it could manufacture cars so well and on such terms as in Slovakia,“ Prime Minister Fico said.
SITA