EDF works council in new bid to delay Hinkley Point decision

PARIS (Reuters) - The EDF works council has initiated new legal action to delay the French utility's decision about its 18 billion pound Hinkley Point nuclear project in Britain but the court will not rule before a board meeting on Thursday. EDF has called a board meeting for July 28 that will consider a final investment decision, which unions want to delay as they consider EDF's finances too stretched to take on a project of this magnitude. EDF works council secretary Jean-Luc Magnaval told Reuters the council had filed a complaint with a Paris court, which has scheduled a hearing on the case for Aug. 2. "We demand a suspension of the decision," Magnaval said. The works council had already filed a separate procedure to force the utility to release confidential documents about the project. EDF, which concluded a consultation procedure with the works council earlier this month, declined to comment. (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Geert De Clercq; editing by Susan Thomas)