The Slovak cabinet declined, at its session on Wednesday, October 17, to discuss the transfer of the 49-percent stake in Slovak gas utility SPP owned by French and German companies to Czech energy concern Energetický a Prúmyslový Holding (Energy and Industrial Holding (EPH)), the TASR newswire reported.
The move came after the two stakeholders – Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas and France's GDF Suez – who despite their minority stake have management control of SPP, failed to withdraw by 10:00 on Wednesday their proposal for a hike in household gas prices of between 18 and 25 percent for next year. The deadline was set by Prime Minister Robert Fico on Tuesday.
The shareholders explained their stance in a letter to the government, but the prime minister was unmoved. He reiterated that unless the minority shareholders vowed to indicate what he called "a 0.00 percent rise" in gas prices, the cabinet would not debate a proposal by the two companies to sell their share in SPP to EPH.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
