The partnership with the Chinese company for the construction of Reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda started seven years ago, and during this period it has not advanced, so it could not go further, said on Thursday evening the Minister of Economy, Virgil Popescu.

“We have a strategic partnership with the US, we hold on to it, we respect our partners. We are members of the EU and NATO. Aside from that, I think 7 years since this collaboration with the Chinese company began is enough to realize that we can’t move on. It hasn’t moved forward. Not moving forward, we can’t wait another 7 years to see what happens, in order for that investment to move forward, the Competition Council had to Notices to tell us if it is an economic concentration or not, but they had nothing to notify and attracted our attention. 7 years have passed, the European Commission has closed Romania’s notification precisely because it has not progressed. So why should we keep it on?,” Popescu said, according to Agerpres.

He pointed out that Romania is not in an easy situation, given that in 2026 Reactor 1 must be retubbed and reaffirmed that Romania has the resources to build a new reactor. At the same time, the minister said he was convinced that a partner would be found.