Hungarian government: Germany is blocking Paks power plant development

Germany’s export agency has not yet given its approval for the export of control technology for the new blocks of the Paks nuclear power station, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, told the Atomexpo forum in Sochi on Monday.

“Some countries and authorities” in Europe were “outdoing Brussels” in putting up obstacles in the way of Hungarian endeavours, the foreign ministry said in a statement quoting Szijjártó.

He said a country’s ability to produce most of its energy needs determined its security, and Hungary, which lacked its own resources, needed nuclear energy. The two new blocks planned for Paks “will more than double the current capacity”, the minister noted.

“The plan and the goal remains to finish the two new blocks by 2030. In effect, the only factors are external,” he added. “We’ve managed to avoid sanctions [on nuclear energy] so far, and made it clear during debates concerning each of the eight packages that nuclear energy must not be included.”

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While the Germans are foot-dragging, the relevant French consortium has already issued the relevant approvals, he added. “I honestly hope that not a single European country will hinder this investment project. We must see that the security of energy supplies is now a matter of national security and national strategy, and even a matter of sovereignty,” he said.

“We’re asking everyone – all European Union institutions, European banks and European governments – to respect the fact that there are no sanctions on nuclear energy, and not to hinder Hungary’s nuclear investment project, which is critically important from the point of the security and affordability of long-term energy supplies,” he added.

Szijjártó said some “purportedly green” NGOs which were well organised and seriously financed considered it their mission “to thwart nuclear projects”. Their stance, he said, clashed with common sense and hindered the security and affordability of long-term energy supplies while undermining green targets.

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The operation of the Paks plant means 14.5 million fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted each year, he said. The plant’s expansion will result in savings of another 17 million tonnes of emissions, plus around 4 billion cubic metres less natural gas will need to be consumed, he added.

The minister insisted that nuclear energy was the cheapest, most reliable, greenest and safest way of producing energy, and people of denied this did so purely for “ideological-political reasons”.

Szijjártó noted he held talks with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and they reviewed the upgrade of the Paks plant, which, he added, was “progressing well”. Excavation work is proceeding as planned, and production of two “especially important” pieces of equipment are under way in Russia, he added.

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Source: MTI