Areva says talks with Finland's TVO are 'difficult'

PARIS (Reuters) - French state-controlled nuclear group Areva said on Tuesday that talks with its Finnish customer TVO about the long-delayed Olkiluoto 3 reactor were "difficult".

Areva and Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) are claiming billions of euros from one another because of delays and cost overruns on the EPR reactor that Areva is building in Olkiluoto, Finland.

"The discussions with TVO are difficult, but the door remains open. Our priority remains the successful completion of OL3," an Areva spokeswoman said.

French daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday that the Areva-TVO talks had broken down in recent weeks.

The two parties have taken their dispute to the International Chamber of Commerce's (ICC) arbitration court which is expected to take years to resolve.

But the French government early this year had asked Areva to speed up the talks as the issue is blocking a planned takeover of Areva's nuclear reactor division by utility EDF, which does not does not want to take on any Olkiluoto-related liabilities.

Earlier this month, Areva chief executive Philippe Knoche told a French parliament committee that talks with TVO were progressing but had not been conclusive.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Laurence Frost and Jane Merriman)