Hungary to review nuclear project with Rosatom – Reuters
Hungary’s new government has decided to review the financing and progress of the Paks II nuclear power plant expansion project, which is being built by Russia’s Rosatom. This is one of the country’s largest energy projects and has sparked controversy due to its cooperation with Russia.
Reuters reported this on May 11.
István Kapitányi, a candidate for Hungary’s Minister of Economy and Energy, stated that the government intends to review the project’s implementation conditions and its financing.
“We need a transparent nuclear strategy. We must review the financing and costs of Paks II and the conditions for its implementation. These are classified contracts that we have not yet seen; we need to examine them,” he said during parliamentary hearings.
Kapitány emphasized that nuclear energy will remain important for Hungary, but promised to fight corruption. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who was recently sworn in, had previously stated that the project’s cost might have been inflated. Rosatom responded by stating its readiness to justify the project’s price.
The project involves the construction of two Russian-made water-cooled power reactors at the Paks II nuclear power plant. The contract for the €12.5 billion project was signed back in 2014 without a tender. Meanwhile, Reuters notes that the project’s completion has been delayed for years.
As a reminder, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Hungary has returned to Ukraine the funds and assets of Oschadbank that were seized by Hungarian special services in March of this year.
Earlier, Hungary’s future Prime Minister Péter Magyar stated that the issue of returning the frozen Ukrainian funds of Oschadbank would only be subject to negotiations after the new government is officially formed.
Hungary also announced that it would refrain from exerting pressure within the EU.
