LMP calls on government to suspend spending on Paks project

Budapest (MTI) – The opposition LMP party is demanding that the government should stop spending on the Paks nuclear plant expansion project until the European Court of Justice establishes whether the investment is planned to be implemented with prohibited state aid, member of the party’s national board Péter Ungár said in Budapest on Sunday.

Austria, Luxembourg and Greenpeace have said they would submit an appeal to the European Court of Justice against the licence the European Commission is expected to issue so the case could turn into a legal procedure taking several years, Ungár said.

The Paks expansion project is contrary to Hungary’s national interests and moves the country closer to Russia both politically and in terms of energy policy, he said.

Nevertheless, press reports say the European Commission is expected to license the investment, he said, which shows that it is not on the side of European and Hungarian citizens but takes the side of business lobby groups.

LMP, on the other hand, believes that the Hungarian government should close down the entire project and cancel the “Orbán-Putin pact”, the contract signed between Hungary and Russia, the opposition politician said.

Source: MTI