No energy security in Europe without nuclear energy, Hungarian FM says
The nuclear energy sector may remain relatively exempt from “overly ideological, emotional debates, and the sector is an intact sliver of East-West cooperation,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.
Speaking ahead of a ministerial meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Szijjártó said the countries able to generate the energy they consume will be positioned best to weather the energy crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and “botched sanctions”. Hungary’s best chance to do so is using nuclear energy, by a much-needed upgrade of the Pals nuclear plant, which will boost its performance to 4,400 MW from the current 2,000 MW, he said.
Szijjártó insisted that Hungary had fought to eliminate “discrimination” against nuclear energy in the EU in recent years. As a result, the Paks investment will not be restricted “in any way”, he said. The upgrade is a “truly international” project, with Russian Rosatom at the helm, and suppliers such as the US’s General Electric, French Framatome and German Siemens, he added.
Nuclear energy is cheap, safe and environment-friendly, and the two new blocks in Paks are expected to prevent the emission of 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, he said. “Anyone with any sense can see today that without nuclear energy, there will be no energy security or affordable prices in Europe, and Europe won’t be able to fulfil its green goals,” he said.
- Read also: Former Hungarian President: Money must be found to solve problems caused by climate crisis
The foreign ministry quoted Szijjártó as saying that the current energy crises had not only been caused by the war in Ukraine and the EU’s sanctions, adding that the community had become “much too lazy”, neglecting crucial investments and infrastructure developments, focusing on spot markets rather than on long-term purchase agreements.
Szijjártó insisted that green energy had also been shrouded in ideology, and noted a strong anti-nuclear position, whose supporters referred to such nuclear disasters as Chernobyl and Fukushima. “But this is like giving up cars because of a road accident,” he said.
Read alsoOpposition files complaint over Hungarian government’s ‘sanctions-bomb’ billboards
Source: MTI
Let’s talk about “neglecting crucial investments and infrastructure developments” Our Politicians “engineered” our Energy Security Plan A (without a Plan B) in such a way that nuclear is now the only viable option. And, somehow, with our Energy Security Plans, our Politicians always insist on Russian participation (as if this is somehow better than sticking with the world’s biggest trading bloc (the EU) or established allies such as the US. Even without Mr. Trump – they’re still pretty formidable).
Lastly – Hungary is well on track to miss the EU’s energy and climate targets for 2030 and it’s commitments in the agreed national energy and climate plan (NECP) – WHERE NUCLEAR ENERGY DOES NOT COUNT towards the target. So – Mr. Szijjártó most likely has an interest in propagating nuclear energy as “green”!