The Czech antitrust watchdog has rejected complaints about the choice of a South Korean consortium as the preferred bidder in a multibillion dollar nuclear deal with the Czech government. 

The Czech Republic’s antitrust body, the Office for the Protection of Competition, said Thursday in a press release that it has either stopped appeal proceedings or rejected proposals from the French power company EDF and the U.S.-based Westinghouse, which also submitted bids for the project. 

The antitrust body added that EDF and Westinghouse can appeal its decisions, which are not final. 

The announcement came a day after the antitrust body put a temporary hold on the nuclear deal with the South Korean consortium, led by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power(KHNP). 

KHNP beat EDF and won the tender in July after Westinghouse’s bid was ruled out in January, and both companies filed objections in August.