France to help Poland develop nuclear energy (Roundup)

Nov 5, 2009, 12:48 GMT

Paris - France and Poland have decided to cooperate in the development of nuclear power stations in the Eastern European country, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Thursday in Paris.

Warsaw and Paris will hold 'exclusive' discussions toward developing 'a nuclear energy network in Poland,' Sarkozy told journalists after talks with Tusk at the Elysee Palace.

For his part, Tusk said: 'The cooperation between Poland and France is the grand beginning of nuclear energy in Poland.'

The Polish prime minister said that the first nuclear reactor is scheduled to be built by 2020, with another to be completed five years later.

Their construction will be undertaken with the assistance of French engineers and technicians, Tusk added.

Currently, Poland has no nuclear power plants. In 2008, the government approved an energy policy that called for the construction of two plants by 2020.

Sarkozy and Tusk met within the framework of a Franco-Polish summit that included a number of ministers from both sides.

The meetings concluded with the issuing of joint declarations in the matters of defence, the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the environment and culture.

Regarding CAP, Sarkozy said Poland and France spoke 'with one voice,' in order to defend the safety of foodstuffs in Europe.

The two countries agreed to work together in the development of the CAP after 2013, when the current agreement on EU farm expenditures is set to expire.

Tusk said that both leaders had also agreed that it was entirely possible to deepen military ties with the United States and at the same time strengthen Europe's defence capabilities.

The two countries also agreed to exchange military knowledge and to deepen the cooperation between their intelligence services, the Polish prime minister said.