Fresh protests in Austria over Temelin

The governor of Upper Austria, Josef Puhringer, has described plans to restart tests at the Temelin nuclear power plant as a severe act of provocation. Mr Puhringer warned CEZ, the energy utility in charge of Temelin, and the Czech government that if they continue to provoke Austria, this could jeopardise the Czech Republic's chances of joining the EU. The issue of Temelin, which lies just fifty kilometres from the Austrian border, has strained relations between the two countries over the past year, as many Austrians are concerned over safety standards at the plant. Austrian environmental activists also protested on Wednesday against the plans to restart test operations at Temelin, and have announced that a fresh blockade of one Czech-Austrian border crossing will take place on Friday.