German ministers try to block Hungary’s nuclear power plant expansion, says minister

Hungary’s foreign minister has blasted German Green Party ministers, accusing them of “blocking” the Paks nuclear power plant expansion “for ideological and political reasons”.

Péter Szijjártó said the move was unfounded in European law, and there was no ban on nuclear cooperation with Russia, according to a ministry statement on Friday. At a press conference, Szijjártó said the European Commission had not vetoed the Paks nuclear power plant expansion, adding that German Green Party ministers were obstructing the project.

Russia’s Rosatom has contract with a German-French consortium to build the plant’s control system, he noted. Whereas France’s export authority has already granted the relevant permissions, the German government is blocking these for now, he added. Decisions concerning the energy mix fall under national competences, and energy security is a national matter, the minister said, adding that nuclear cooperation was not subject to sanctions.

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Amid the current turmoil, countries that can produce a major portion of their energy needs can be regarded as secure, and in Hungary’s case nuclear energy guarantees such a scenario, Szijjártó said.

Any obstacles to Hungarian-Russian nuclear cooperation are “deeply contrary to national interests”, he said, adding that Hungary would not vote for any measures that would undermine that cooperation.

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Source: MTI