Prague, March 3 (CTK) – Czech Communist (KSCM) deputies have again proposed the abolition of a law from 2000 that bans Czech supplies to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, arguing that the ban prevents the normalisation of trade and business relations with Iran and harms Czech exports.
Before, the KSCM unsuccessfully proposed the law’s abolition in 2009 and once again in 2016.
The same step was proposed by the previous coalition government of the Social Democrats (CSSD), ANO and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) in 2017, but the Chamber of Deputies rejected it.
Passed in 2000, the law reacted to the south Bohemian ZVVZ Milevsko company’s plan to supply air conditioning to Bushehr. The planned deal was criticised by Britain and the USA, which suspected Iran of misusing civilian programmes to cover up military nuclear projects.
The law bans Czech producers from exporting goods, services, documentation or information in connection with the Bushehr plant.
To explain its proposal for lifting the ban in 2016, the KSCM said the threat of the supplies harming the Czech Republic’s interests had evidently been over.
However, the critics of the proposal raised objections concerning Prague’s relations with Israel, which feels endangered by the Iranian nuclear programme.
“There are 123 newcomers among the deputies [to the Czech 200-seat lower house elected last October], so we will see,” KSCM chairman Vojtech Filip has told CTK, referring to the proposal’s current chance to succeed.
Czech Chamber of Commerce President Vladimir Dlouhy, too, called on lawmakers to lift the ban in January 2016. He said the ban deprives Czech companies of contracts.
The Foreign Ministry supports the lifting, since the reasons of the ban are over now, its press department has told CTK.
Industry and Trade Minister Tomas Huner (for ANO), whose ministry is co-responsible for the issue together with the Foreign Ministry, said this is an affair where business clashes with politics and that he would comment on it after studying the relevant political information.
“I think, unfortunately, that the business embargo will not be lifted,” he told CTK.
In 2015, world powers reached agreement with Iran, followed by a deal on its nuclear programme, whose fulfilment has been monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
