EU to hear Slovakia on nuclear plant restart

BRUSSELS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission will listen to the arguments of Slovakia on the need to restart the country's Bohunice nuclear power plant and then assess the situation, the European Union executive said on Monday.

Slovakia is seeking alternative energy sources after a dispute between Russia and Ukraine has cut the amount of gas supplies to Europe. Slovakia had agreed to close the Bohunice plant as part of its EU accession agreement.

"The (Energy) Commissioner (Andris Piebalgs) will hear the Slovak authorities' explanation and in the light of the explanation ... he will assess the situation," Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)