Paks nuclear plant project

Austria must accept Hungary’s right to decide on energy supply, says offical

paks

Vienna, April 18 (MTI) – Austria must accept Hungary’s right to decide for itself how to supply its energy needs, the government commissioner for the upgrade of Hungary’s nuclear plant in Paks said in an interview published in the Tuesday issue of Austrian daily Der Standard.

“We are not as lucky as Austria, which has an abundance of mountain streams that can be used in energy production,” Attila Aszódi said. “For us, nuclear energy is the only carbon-free energy source which can provide a stable energy supply regardless of weather conditions.”

Aszódi noted that the Paks plant consists of four nuclear reactors that were built between 1982 and 1987 and had originally been designed for a life cycle of 30 years. Their life cycles were later extended by 20 years, but they will be replaced in the 2030s by the two new blocks to be built in the next decade, the government commissioner said.

Commenting on the suggestion that Austria could take Hungary to court over the project on the grounds of the involvement of illegal state aid, Aszódi said Austria had the legal means to take such steps, but the Hungarian government does not believe that such a legal challenge would be successful. Aszodi said the government hoped that for the sake of preserving friendly bilateral ties, Austria would acknowledge that like other European Union member states, Hungary, too has the right to decide for itself how to supply its energy needs.

The government commissioner said the European Commission had spent a year and a half investigating the Paks 2 project before approving it.

Contrary to what critics say, the Paks upgrade “does not come with any Russian influence”, Aszódi said in response to a question about Moscow’s political role in the project.

He said Atomstroyexport, the subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, which is the general contractor for the project, would carry out the upgrade with a number of international subcontractors. The owner and operator of the Paks 2 plant will be a company that is fully owned by the Hungarian state, he said.

Aszódi said the contract between Hungary and Russia is accessible to the public, adding that the Russian loan was not subject to any political conditions. He said the reason why Hungary had chosen to finance the project with a loan from Russia was because it was hard to find other sources of funding with similar terms.

Construction of the new blocks will last ten years and Hungary will have 21 years to pay back the loan, he said. In addition, the agreement includes the possibility of advance repayment, which Aszódi said was beneficial to Hungary.

Aszódi said every country in the region imports energy from Russia, noting that Austria and Slovakia import Russian gas while Germany had built the Nord Stream gas pipeline and is preparing to build Nord Stream 2. He said importing Russian gas brought with it a far greater degree of energy dependence than building a nuclear plant, for which the fuel rods can be procured years in advance and stored safely.

“If we did not build the nuclear plant, we’d have to import more natural gas to meet our energy needs,” the government commissioner said.

Read the original interview here: Ungarn an Österreich: “Russischer Partner wird ein gutes AKW bauen” 

Photo: Daily News Hungary

Parliament’s economic committee approves minister in charge of Paks upgrade

Budapest, April 18 (MTI) – Parliament’s economic committee on Tuesday approved the appointment of János Süli as minister without portfolio in charge of overseeing and managing the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant.

Süli’s appointment was approved with nine votes in favour and three abstentions.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced last week before parliament that he would appoint a minister without portfolio to oversee the project.

Süli, the current mayor of Paks, worked at the nuclear plant for 31 years in a variety of positions, including as its CEO and deputy CEO.

The amended government decree on the creation of the position of minister without portfolio in charge of the project was published in the official gazette Magyar Kozlony last Wednesday. The amendment took effect on Thursday.

Photo: MTI

Photo: MTI

Paks Mayor Suli officially confirmed as minister in charge of Paks upgrade

Daily News Hungary

Paks (MTI) – Government office chief János Lázár on Thursday officially announced the appointment of Paks Mayor János Suli as minister without portfolio in charge of overseeing and managing the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant.

Suli himself confirmed media speculation on Wednesday that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had picked him for the role.

Speaking at a session of the Paks Social Council, Lázár said Suli’s appointment would be made official within the coming days and he is expected to be sworn in on May 2. Given that Suli is currently mayor of Paks, a by-election will have to be held in the town to replace him, Lázár added.

He said the government’s goal was to have the Paks plant provide for 50 percent of Hungary’s electricity consumption, with the remainder to be derived from renewable energy sources, mainly solar energy. The nuclear plant’s purpose is to provide cheap electricity to households and the economy, he said.

The government office chief also announced that the government will earmark 1.5 billion forints (EUR 4.8m) for development projects in Paks and surrounding municipalities this year.

Opposition LMP blames Orbán for Paks upgrade

Daily News Hungary economy

Budapest, April 11 (MTI) – The opposition LMP party puts the blame on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for the planned upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant, a board member said on Tuesday.

No matter whom Orbán appoints to minister in charge of the project, he is personally responsible for the project, the agreement concluded with Russia “on the sly” and the government’s failure to consult the public about the plan, Péter Ungár told a press conference.

Orbán announced on Monday that a minister without portfolio would be appointed to oversee and manage the upgrade.

Commenting on the announcement, Ungár said that instead of making this “senseless” move, the government should rather call a referendum on the issue.

Orbán to appoint minister in charge of Paks nuclear power plant

Budapest, April 10 (MTI) – A minister without portfolio will be appointed in the next few days to oversee and manage the upgrade of Hungary’s sole nuclear power plant at Paks, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced in parliament on Monday.

Orbán made his announcement in response to a remark by Bernadett Szél, co-leader of green LMP, who had called into question the government’s rejection of a referendum concerning the Paks upgrade. She insisted that the government had no authorisation to embark on such a project.

Orbán said the ruling parties’ “cards are on the table”, arguing that his administration had signed the framework agreement for the project before the last elections in 2014, “so that nobody can say that they are unfamiliar with the energy policy” of the government before reelecting it.

Orbán insisted that his Fidesz party supports both nuclear and renewable energies but it appears the former would be the cheapest “for a good while”.

Photo: MTI

Paks upgrade commissioner briefs Austrian side about state of project

Paks nuclear plant

Vienna (MTI) – The government commissioner for the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant met Austrian ministry officials to brief them about the current stand of the project, in Vienna on Friday.

Attila Aszódi held talks with officials of the Austrian environment and economy ministries at a regular annual meeting held under a bilateral inter-governmental agreement concluded in 1987. Under the agreement the sides directly inform one another about developments in the area of atomic energy.

Assessing the meeting, Aszódi described it as “correct and objective”, stating to the Austrian partners Hungary’s commitment to ensuring transparency of the project and continuing to share all of its details with Austrian officials.

The Austrian partners were briefed first-hand about Brussels’ recent approval of the project, the issuance of a site permit for the upgrade by the Hungarian atomic energy authority and a prospective domestic environmental permit expected soon, Aszodi told MTI.

He told his partners that now all conditions are set for the upgrade to get under way.

“Hungary needs atomic energy in the long term in order to ensure safe supplies in an effort to meet the country’s electricity needs, this is why the Paks project is essential,” Aszodi said, adding that the Austrian side accepted this concept.

Hungary signed an agreement in January 2014 on the construction of two blocks at the Paks plant by Russia’s Rosatom. Russia is lending Hungary 10 billion euros to cover 80 percent of the project’s costs. Construction work on the upgrade is due to start next year.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

Election Committee rejects referendum initiatives concerning Paks upgrade

paks

Budapest, April 4 (MTI) – The National Election Committee on Tuesday threw out five referendum initiatives concerning the planned upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant.

Three of the initiatives had been proposed by green opposition LMP, while two by the Dialogue party.

The body rejected three of the proposed referendum questions saying that they were not clearly worded.

Concerning a fourth question, if voters agreed that the government should terminate its agreement with Russia on the upgrade project, the body said that such termination was a government competency rather than that of parliament, while a referendum can only be held on subjects controlled by parliament.

The last question, whether voters would support any nuclear projects in Hungary in the next 50 years, would impact Hungary’s international obligations, and as such, could not be approved, the body said.

LMP co-leader Bernadett Szél criticised the body for its attitude of “picking holes” to reject the initiatives, and insisted that the committee had passed politically motivated decisions. Szél said her party was determined to appeal to the supreme court and reword their questions in a way that the committee cannot reject them.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

Green opposition LMP submits package of questions on Paks upgrade to government

Paks nuclear plant

Budapest (MTI) – Green opposition LMP calls on the government to explain several aspects of the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant before “spending any penny on the project”, the party’s co-leader said on Saturday.

LMP has submitted a package of questions concerning the upgrade to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bernadett Szél told a press conference.

The party wants to know the exact breakdown of costs defined within the overall 4,000 billion forint (EUR 13bn) budget of the project, she said.

LMP also seeks to know why the government has classified the agreements on the implementation of the expansion project, she said, adding that it would also like to access agreements concluded by the government with an affiliate of the Rothschild Group in connection with the upgrade.

Further, LMP wants to know whether Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had travelled to Russia in January 2014 with a government decision in his pocket approving his signing of an agreement on the upgrade and whether Hungarian intelligence services had investigated beforehand the possibility of Russian attempts to influence Hungarian decision-makers on the project, she said.

Szél said the Hungarian people had the right to get clear answers from the government to the set of questions surrounding the project which would define their country’s future for the next several decades.

Hungary signed an agreement in January 2014 on the construction of two blocks at the Paks nuclear power plant by Russia’s Rosatom. Russia is lending Hungary 10 billion euros to cover 80 percent of the project’s costs.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

LMP: Paks upgrade to profit Fidesz-linked businesses

Budapest, March 23 (MTI) – The planned upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant will “only profit the government and companies close to the ruling Fidesz party”, the co-leader of the opposition LMP party told a press conference on Thursday.

Ákos Hadházy said a company “with business ties to Viktor Orbán’s son-in-law” was “already past the gates of the nuclear plant”.

Further, the IT headquarters of the new plant is to be placed in a building that has changed hands multiple times to profit circles connected to the Fidesz mayor of Szekszárd, István Horváth, Hadházy said.

Although none of these actions are illegal, the process is rigged so that well-connected players get undue advantage, Hadházy said.

Government discusses bus, steel making, health, Paks project

Budapest, March 23 (MTI) – The government discussed issues around Hungary’s bus- and steel-making industries, and made decisions concerning national health screening programmes, János Lázár, head of the government office, told a weekly press conference on Thursday.

The government discussed issues around Hungary’s bus- and steel-making industries, and made decisions concerning national health screening programmes. Concerning the government’s bus manufacturing programme, Lázár said that new buses produced in the scheme would “in effect” renew Hungary’s state-owned bus park. He also said that the steel sector needed government assistance for growth.

At its latest session, the government decided that out of a total 19.1 billion forints (EUR 61.7m) allocated to finance Budapest’s now-withdrawn Olympic bid, an unused 12.6 billion forints will be refunded to the central budget, Lázár said.

The government also approved a wage hike in the water management sector, Lázár announced.

On the topic of the Paks nuclear plant upgrade, Lázár the project’s approval by the European Commission was “the greatest economic achievement of the past 27 years [since the end of Communism]”. The 12.5 billion euro investment will have a major effect on the Hungarian economy, especially between 2019-2022, he said.

State Audit Office (ASZ) chief László Domokos said one of the Hungarian government’s laudable achievements was to claim all EU subsidies in the 2007-2013 period. The 25 billion euros available in subsidies for the 2014-2020 period should be tapped with timely tendering and good economic planning, he said.

He said integrity issues were still prevalent concerning investments based on public procurement. To avoid corruption, fraud and embezzlement, individual projects need to be closely monitored by a system designed to enforce economic integrity, Domokos said, noting the EC anti-fraud office (OLAF) report on the Budapest metro construction, which confirmed irregularities pointed to in a 2010 ASZ report.

On another subject, Lázár said the government will launch a new national consultation in two weeks’ time, with questions drafted by the Prime Minister’s cabinet office.

He noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Rome in the afternoon to participate in a conference marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Member states plan to approve a joint statement and a consultation will be started on the bloc’s future, he added.

He said the government has decided to launch public health screening programmes focusing on women and people in active working age. They will be tested for breast, cervical and colon cancer. Twenty specialised screening buses will be purchased, ten of which will carry out mammographies, he said. Also, it is possible that a decision will be made to pay additional monthly funding to GPs, he said.

Photo: MTI

Election Committee thwarts LMP referendum on Paks upgrade

Paks nuclear plant

Budapest, March 21 (MTI) – The National Election Committee on Tuesday rejected a referendum initiative aimed at asking voters about the planned upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant.

The initiative was submitted by József Gál, spokesman of the green LMP party, as a private individual.

The committee said the referendum questions were in conflict with Hungary’s obligations under international agreements and were not clearly worded.

Bernadett Szél, LMP’s co-chair and parliamentary group leader, said in reaction that the committee had “found excuses” not to approve the initiative. Such arguments like some of the questions being “too complicated” and voters could not decide are “ridiculous”, she said, and insisted that “the nuclear lobby has put its foot” in the national committee.

LMP will appeal against the committee decision to the Supreme Court, Szél said.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

LMP warns of security risks around Paks nuclear power plant expansion

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Budapest, March 21 (MTI) – The co-leader of the opposition LMP party said on Tuesday that the project to expand Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant was rife with security risks.

Bernadett Szél told a news conference that the project represented “the biggest political mistake of the 21st century” which would have consequences in the 22nd, too.

After the expansion is completed, the plant will produce 60 percent of the country’s electricity, and concentrating output in one place raises the risk of a terrorist attack, she said. Further, the project increases Hungary’s dependence on Russia, given that the technology for the plant, construction and financing all come from Russia, she added.

Szél said all of this would lead to a narrowing of Hungary’s room for manoeuvre on the international stage. A large part of the financing, moreover, is opaque, she said.

LMP requests release of EU rulings on Paks II

Paks nuclear plant

Budapest, March 19 (MTI) – Green opposition party LMP requests that the European Commission publish the rulings and justifications behind its decision to support the upgrade of the Paks nuclear plant (Paks II), LMP board member Andrea Katalin Jancsó said on Sunday.

Failing to publish the documents would be tantamount to confessing that the commission “is mired in the corruption [ruling] Fidesz has exported to Brussels”, Jancsó told a press conference.

Jancso said “powerful Russian lobbyist” Klaus Mangold had “close ties” to EU commissioner Günther Oettinger.

The Paks upgrade is a project supported by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and lobbyists but not by the Hungarian people, which is why LMP is initiating a referendum on the issue, Jancsó said.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

Government: Paks upgrade covers Hungary’s energy needs for next 6 decades

Paks nuclear plant

Budapest (MTI) – The European Commission’s approval of the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant will secure the country’s energy needs with low prices for the next six decades, government office chief János Lázár told a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Lázár hailed the outcome as a triumph of economic diplomacy.

The project has cleared all legal obstacles set by the EU and preparatory work will start this year, while construction will begin in 2018, he said.

The commission found that Russian technology complies with all EU and international requirements. Hungary had the right to conclude the contract with Russia and the conditions of Hungarian state financing abide by EU rules, Lázár said.

Lázár cited a preparatory financial study on the project by the Rothschild Group, which concluded that the upgraded power plant would pay for the costs of its fuel, operation, maintenance, waste management and eventual dismantling while generating a profit of 3-4 percent.

Lázár insisted that the power plant’s ability to turn a profit was guaranteed by the fact that Hungary had signed a fixed-price contract for its expansion and would receive a “turnkey” nuclear plant.

He said the EC had taken into consideration Hungary’s improving financial indices.

Lázár said Hungary was now in a position where it could mull how to draw on the loan from Russia. Hungary will also calculate the costs and financial effects of paying back the Russian loan without taking up another one.

The government office chief also said that Austria had indicated its intention to take part in the process of obtaining permits for the upgrade.

He said Hungary will constantly update the EU on the project’s progress, adding that he did not expect any moves to be made that would affect the investment’s implementation.

Lázár insisted that the upgrade was an economic rather than a political matter, and called it “regrettable” that certain political parties had made the project a part of their election programmes. Lázár referred to the opposition LMP and Dialogue parties, which have both launched referendum campaigns on the Paks upgrade.

Lázár said the Hungarian public had re-elected ruling Fidesz in 2014 in full knowledge of the government’s plans for the investment.

Photo: atomeromu.hu

LMP: Referendum sole opportunity for Hungarians to state opinion on Paks

paks

Budapest, March 8 (MTI) – Opposition LMP sees a referendum as the only chance for Hungarians to thwart the “corrupt project” to expand the Paks nuclear plant, the party’s co-leader said on Wednesday.

The European Commission greenlighted the Russian-backed investment on Monday.

LMP co-leader Bernadett Szel told a press conference that Brussels had “fallen to its knees” before an international coalition “formed in the shadow of the nuclear lobby” by Hungary’s Orbán government and Russian President Vladimir Putin whose aim was to “ruin” Hungary.

LMP has called on the public to start collecting signatures in order to ensure that the campaign gets under way as soon as the National Election Committee clears any of the party’s questions submitted in connection with the Paks project. LMP has submitted ten questions so far and is open to further suggestions from the public, she said.

At the same press conference, LMP board member Péter Ungár rejected legal arguments made by “institutions close to [ruling] Fidesz” that Hungarian laws prohibit calling a referendum on matters governed by an international agreement. In a previous referendum initiative on EU migrant quotas, the election committee did not cite the Dublin II regulation when approving a popular vote, he noted. Making reference to an international agreement in this current case would be applying double standards, he added.

Hungarians must have the chance to decide whether the source of electricity over the next 30-80 years should be nuclear or much safer renewables, said Ungar.

Construction work on the upgrade of Hungary’s sole nuclear power plant is due to start next year.

Orbán, Putin discuss Paks upgrade by phone

Putin Orbán

Budapest, March 7 (MTI) – Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss issues around the planned upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant on Tuesday, the prime minister’s press office told MTI.

The call came in the wake of the European Commission’s giving the green light to the upgrade project on Monday.

 

Parties at the talks also discussed topical issues around bilateral relations, as well as the implementation of agreements signed during Putin’s February 2 visit to Budapest, kremlin.ru, the Russian president’s official site, reported.

Putin and Orbán welcomed the EC decision, which has “removed obstacles from adding two new blocks to Hungary’s Paks Nuclear Plant, involving Russian state company Rosatom,” kremlin.ru said.

International affairs were also touched upon in the talks, the Russian site added.

Photo: MTI

European Commission approves Hungary state aid to Paks upgrade project

paks

Brussels, March 6 (MTI) – The European Commission has granted its approval to the Hungarian state’s providing a subsidy to the Paks nuclear power plant upgrade project, according to a statement issued by the EC on Monday.

“The European Commission has concluded that Hungary’s financial support for the construction of two new nuclear reactors in Paks (Paks II) involves state aid. It has approved this support under EU state aid rules on the basis of commitments made by Hungary to limit distortions of competition,” the statement said.

The EC said that according to the agreement to avoid overcompensation of the operator of Paks II, any potential profits earned by Paks II will either be used to pay back Hungary for its investment or to cover normal costs for the operation of Paks II. Profits cannot be used to reinvest in the construction or acquisition of additional generation capacity.

To avoid market concentration, Paks II will be functionally and legally separated from the operator of the Paks nuclear power plant (the incumbent MVM Group) and any of its successors or other state-owned energy companies.

Hungary also agreed that to ensure market liquidity, Paks II will sell at least 30 percent of its total electricity output on the open power exchange. The rest of Paks II’s total electricity output will be sold by Paks II on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory terms by way of auctions.

Based on these commitments the Commission said it approved the investment plan under EU state aid rules because the amount of aid is limited and proportionate to the objectives pursued, while the distortion of competition caused by the state support is minimised.

The two new reactors aim to replace the four reactors currently operating at Paks, which were constructed in the 1980s and currently account for approximately 50 percent of Hungary’s domestic electricity production.

Construction work on the upgrade of Hungary’s sole nuclear power plant is due to start next year, with financing from Russia.

Hungary to maintain state of emergency due to mass migration

Budapest (MTI) – The government has decided to extend by six months a state of emergency, covering the whole country, in response to the dangers presented by mass migration, the government office chief told a weekly press briefing on Thursday.

János Lázár said the state of emergency would be maintained until Sept. 7. The reason to keep it in place is that 800,000 people stuck in the Balkans are unable to return to Turkey, he added.

The measure also includes restoring immigration detention as well as strengthening the border with a second fence to be completed along the 150km Hungarian-Serbian section by May 1, Lázár said.

 

Altogether 700 prisoners will contribute towards the construction, he said. Lázár noted that the government had set aside 38 billion forints (EUR 123m) for the purpose last week, bringing the total cost of the fence along the southern border to 284 billion forints.

Noting a regulation passed by the European Commission on Feb. 16 requiring blanket checks at EU external borders, EU citizens included, Lázár said waiting times were bound to increase but the government would uphold the new rule to the point that “no disproportionate harm comes to society”.

The European Council agreed with the European Parliament on Feb. 22 to approve new regulations enabling Ukrainian citizens to enter the EU without a visa, Lázár said. Those Ukrainians who hold biometric passports are planned to gain visa-free entry to the EU, Lázár added.

On another topic, Lázár noted that the Visegrad Four countries had adopted a joint position concerning the future of the European Union and another on food quality at a summit in Warsaw earlier in the day. An EU summit held in Rome on March 25, on the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, will be the venue for discussions concerning the future of Europe, he said, adding that the V4 countries will stress the need for strong nation states.

The V4 also held consultations on 2020 budgetary issues. The Hungarian government is making special preparations to discuss the budget and will join Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in lobbying in this area, Lázár said.

The V4 will also jointly ask the European Commission for consumer protection measures. They want retailers to be obliged to inform consumers about the quality of the products they sell here and whether the quality differs in Hungary from supplies to western Europe, he said. Hungary objects to being disadvantaged and discriminated against, Lázár said. Large multinationals have been flooding central and eastern Europe with “food-industry rubbish”, he added.

Lázár said Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will meet parliamentary party group leaders on Monday morning in order to present Hungary’s position before the EU summit.

In response to a question about green opposition LMP’s initiative for a referendum about the expansion of the Paks nuclear power station, Lázár said small parties in Hungary suffer from “the problem of trying to become visible”. If the elections were held today, “LMP would not get in parliament and so they obviously must do something big to increase their visibility,” he added. Hungarians have already voted on this issue in the 2014 elections, Lazar said, adding that LMP had gone to great lengths to make the Paks project a decisive issue. The government has played its cards openly and LMP has been given the chance to present its position in parliament, he said. At the same time, LMP has not lost its right to initiate a referendum, Lázár said.

 

“There are few more transparent investment projects by the state than the nuclear power station project” he said, insisting that the referendum initiative was a political move and not really about the nuclear power station, the same way as the Momentum Movement’s petition was not about the Olympics, Lázár added.

In response to a question, he also said that a super-hospital to be set up by merging the city hospital and the county hospital in Miskolc would receive extra funding. The construction of a new super-hospital in Budapest is planned for the current government term, he added.

Photo: MTI