Hungarian minister confident about Paks nuclear power plant’s Russian upgrade

The upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant, a key investment to guaranteeing Hungary’s energy security, environmental protection and competitiveness, is progressing on schedule, the minister of foreign affairs and trade said in Vienna on Monday.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Péter Szijjártó said the production of nuclear energy was “mired in political and ideological debate”. A professional approach is long overdue, he added. “Nuclear energy is the solution to safely producing large quantities of electricity at competitive prices while protecting the environment,” he said. The Paks upgrade will prevent the emission of 17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, he said.

Hungary say no to sanctions

In Vienna, Szijjártó met Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev and reviewed the progress of the upgrade with him. Digging is under way in the place of the new blocks, he said, adding “we will be able to connect the two new reactors to the network by 2030.” Hungary is in constant contact with Rosatom on the investment. “I told them that we had reports on certain European Union member states keeping sanctions against the nuclear industry on the agenda,” he said. “That would be going against Hungarian national interests, and we will naturally veto such a proposal, should it ever be tabled … The Paks project remains an international project, with US, German and French companies involved besides Rosatom,” Szijjártó said.

Read also:

• Rosatom head: All obstacles to Paks II construction removed, Lavrov guaranteed energy security
• Hungarian government insists on Russian nuclear power: amendment to Paks contract signed

Meeting with Rosatom’s CEO:

Hungary preparation for EU presidency ‘going well’

Preparations for Hungary’s EU presidency in the second half of 2024 are progressing very well, a state secretary of the ministry for EU affairs said in Parliament on Monday. Speaking before parliament’s committee for EU affairs, Barna Pál Zsigmond listed the priorities defined for the presidency. “The most important task is to represent the interests of the European Union as a whole,” he said, adding that an EU institutional reform and most likely the war would also be among the top priorities. Hungary will take over the rotating presidency in July, short after the European Parliament elections when “the old institutions” would still be operating while new ones were being set up, he said.

The state secretary said that other priorities included boosting the EU’s competitiveness, tackling demographic challenges, moving forward the enlargement process with special focus on the Western Balkans countries, combatting illegal migration and protecting the bloc’s borders. Strengthening the community’s defence policy and continuing its cohesion policy will also be important priorities, he said.