Paks nuclear plant project

Hungary to replace Russian with American nuclear fuel with EU help?

paks ii visual plan

The European Commission is ready to help the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary to wean itself off Russian nuclear fuel.

The REPowerEU programme – ending dependency by the end of 2027

The European Commission is not only helping EU countries wean off Russian oil and gas with the recent REPowerEU programme but is also providing technical support to help the Paks nuclear power plant source nuclear fuel from elsewhere instead of Russia, according to an article in the Financial Times on Friday.

As we can read in the article of Mérce, on Wednesday, the European Commission presented its plan to end the EU’s dependency on Russia for energy by the end of 2027. As part of this plan,

the Commission would provide “technical assistance” to member states so that they could buy fuel from sources other than Russia.

The American Westinghouse helps

According to Portfolio.hu, US company Westinghouse told the Financial Times that it is seeking to obtain regulatory approval to supply nuclear fuel to the five EU countries (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Finland) that have nuclear power plants with a Russian background and therefore have to buy nuclear fuel from TVEL at the moment, which is a company owned by the Russian Rosatom.

Russian fuel supplies are not yet subject to sanctions; however, Russian planes carrying fuel are banned from the EU airspace. What is more, the war in Ukraine has rendered rail transport impossible. Despite this, a Russian aircraft carrying Russian fuel landed in Hungary in early April.

The article in the Financial Times suggests that Slovakia has also been stockpiling from the fuel that came to Hungary.

Paks has already stored enough Russian nuclear fuel

The American newspaper also interviewed the Paks nuclear power plant, which indicated that they are seeking to diversify their nuclear fuel suppliers, although they have stored enough Russian fuel for the long term. The legal obligation is to buy fuel for at least 2 years in advance, and in April, there were two air deliveries from Russia to Paks, so they could replenish their stocks.

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MEP Gyöngyösi: Time to get rid of the Russian nuclear deals, too!

Jobbik MEP Márton Gyöngyösi’s thoughts via press release: 

Europe has toughened its stance on Russia. The European Commission has announced plans for another package of Russia sanctions. The direction is good, but some issues have still been ignored, unfortunately.

Proposed this week in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, the sixth package of sanctions show that Europe has woken up, understands the looming threat and is ready to react assertively, for which the European Commission deserves credit – as I already said in the European Parliament’s latest session in Strasbourg.

The package is aimed at banning some more Russian leaders and cutting more Russian banks, including the leading Sberbank, off the SWIFT system. 

It would also ban several media outlets that spread Russian fake news, but the most radical and important element is undoubtedly the oil embargo to be carried out by the end of this year.

This is the hardest point to agree on, because breaking off from the Russian oil import is painful even for those EU member states that are the least dependant on it, but two countries are certainly in a critical situation: Hungary and especially Slovakia. Due to their geographical position and economic status, they have largely relied on imported Russian oil so far. Looking on the bright side, longer timescales have been suggested for their transition, and we have heard the EU is also considering helping these two countries.

In contrast, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s attitude is quite depressing. 

Having already been the most unashamed mouthpiece of Moscow’s propaganda in his own country, he’s just kicked up the anti-Europe instigation a notch: he’s now threatening the Hungarian people that if Budapest is no longer allowed to buy Russian oil, Hungarian citizens will hardly be able to make ends meet. Furthermore, to fuel his domestic propaganda machine (or perhaps to comply with the rumoured Russian blackmail?), he’s now willing to veto the sanction package even after the EU’s offer for a softer transition, thus disrupting Europe’s unity and making our continent just as impotent as the Kremlin expected it to be before starting the war on Ukraine.

As far as Viktor Orbán and his regime are concerned, Europe has no choice left other than facing the fact that Orbán, who won the 2022 national elections with suspicious methods and Russian anti-Europe fake news, just can’t be pacified. Any dispute with him will just further strengthen his position, because his loyal media will always keep presenting a narrative that puts him in a positive light. The only way to handle Orbán is to isolate and sanction him, just like all the other lackeys of the Kremlin.

The other important technical rather than political issue is getting rid of the Russian nuclear energy.

Rosatom’s bilateral deals with certain European states have been subjected to some scrutiny, but no decision has been made. However, such projects obviously mean extremely close and nearly unbreakable ties between Moscow and the particular states. In light of the current situation, this kind of risk is intolerable. One EU member state affected by the Rosatom deal was Finland, but it has already terminated the contract. The other one is Hungary, where the Orbán government, hardly surprisingly, stubbornly insists on Rosatom carrying out the upgrade of the Paks power plant, thus making Hungary even more dependent on Russia. The Russian oil ban must obviously be followed by a boycott on Russian atomic energy: Russian nuclear projects must be banned from the territory of the European Union. It should come as no surprise for you if I predict that Viktor Orbán will threaten to veto any agreement once again, which takes us back to my proposal two paragraphs above.

The issue is pressing. Time to take action!

Nothing changes! Orbán cabinet continues to build the Paks nuclear plant with the Russians

rosatom hungary russia szijjártó

Completion of the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant is in the country’s economic and security interests, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after talks with Alexey Likhachev, the head of Russia’s Rosatom company, in Istanbul on Thursday.

At the talks, Rosatom leaders “assured the Hungarian side that in terms of technology they are able to complete the project”, Szijjártó told MTI.

The Hungarian atomic energy authority is in the process of reviewing permit applications and once those permits are issued “construction could enter its next phase”, the minister said. The upgrade project, in which two new blocks will be added to the plant, will make Hungary’s energy supply “more secure and more predictable”, he added.

Szijjártó said the global energy markets were facing “appalling challenges”, adding that “countries such as Hungary, which fundamentally rely on imported energy, will be especially impacted by those difficulties”.

It is in Hungary’s interest to increase its energy production, which requires increased capacities and nuclear energy offers the greatest potential to achieve that goal, he said.

Nuclear energy is “cheap, safe, and environmentally friendly”, and could be instrumental for Hungary to “retain the achievements of the utility cuts programme and meet environmental protection goals”, he said.

Szijjártó noted “international disputes and challenges concerning energy sectors based on daily supplies, such as of gas and oil”,

saying it was crucial for Hungary to promote nuclear energy production, for which fuels could be amassed for years ahead, and which could “ensure significant independence and stability in energy production”.

Here is how nuclear fuel arrives now from Russia to Hungary

paks_nuclear_plant_hungary

Due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, supplies from Russia travelled to us on a much longer and complicated route.

Shipments of heat source supplies normally arrive from Russia to the Paks Nuclear Power Plant 2-3 times a year. They are transported in special carriages to Paks. However, due to the on-going war trains have not been able to travel through Ukraine, therefore a plan B was needed. Iho.hu reports on this issue.

Normally, the first dispatch is in March, but this year it happened in April, when an alternative solution was finally found. That is, switching to air transportation.

The Volga-Dnepr airline flies the nuclear material from Moscow’s International Airport to the Hungarian Defence Forces’ Pápa Base Airfield, and from there it is transported to Paks by Hungarian railway. On April 5, two coaches of MÁV Rail Tours were taken to Pápa from the Hungarian Railway Museum, making it obvious that a nuclear train was being prepared.

The route could be traced based on information from Facebook (for example: there are a lot of police officers at the railway stations between Pápa and Győr…), revealing a Pápa-Győrszabadhegy-Komárom-Székesfehérvár-Pusztaszabolcs-Dunaújváros-Paks route, avoiding Budapest. The following day, Péter Szijjártó announced that the first nuclear shipment from Russia since the beginning of the war had been delivered to Paks. Interestingly, the two coaches were not taken back to the Railway Museum.

We can only guess at what it was that we dispatched from Paks, perhaps just some transport containers. What may debunk this theory, however, is that there was no special surveillance and escort during the cargo’s trip to Pápa, a simple freight train was used.

Then the cargo flew to Russia.

There were two journeys like this. The same Russian aircraft arrived again on April 19 to Pápa. Heavy police presence could be detected in the area and in the following days when several other carriages arrived at the town. Then on the 23rd trains were sent from Paks back to Pápa without any extra surveillance and defence. On the 24th, Flightradar showed the Volga-Dnepr aircraft’s journey from Pápa to Moscow. So something again had to be taken back to Moscow, except this time there was no extra safety needed.

 

As reported by Napi.hu, the European Parlament accepted a ruling in April about ending nuclear collaboration between Hungary and Russia, which could be the end of the Paks Nuclear Plant. However, as Szabó John of Eötvös Loránd Research Network explains:

The European Parlament’s standpoint is always radical, but compared to the European Commission and the EU Council it is of less importance, since they have a smaller influence on EU and national policies. They merely represent a dominant way, which on one hand is really needed because of their ambitious goals.

He also explains that the EP’s ruling is more about favouring renewable resources and helping to spread their application in the EU.

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Read alsoHere is how nuclear fuel arrives now from Russia to Hungary

Austrian plane breached the forbidden airspace of the Paks nuclear power plant

Gripen NATO aircraft

An Austrian plane flew into the forbidden airspace of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant yesterday evening. The Hungarian air force was immediately alerted.

According to 24.hu, the airspace within a 3-kilometre radius of the Paks nuclear power plant is forbidden for any plane to enter. The communications director of the power plant told MTI yesterday that an Austrian, Piston-type small aircraft breached the airspace of the nuclear power plant. Antal Kovács said that the fighter jets of the Hungarian Defence Forces escorted the plane to Szeged.

The Gripens took off when the small aircraft did not establish a radio connection with the civil air traffic control. The Hungarian fighter jets identified the Austrian plane, established a radio connection with the pilot, and escorted it to Szeged. Afterwards, they returned to the Kecskemét airbase.

Interestingly, this was the second breach yesterday. As we reported before, Hungarian Gripen fighter jets were scrambled by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre on Friday afternoon because of a bomb threat on a Serbian-registered passenger aircraft flying from Saint Petersburg to Belgrade, the defence ministry told MTI. The Gripens escorted the A319 aircraft out of the Hungarian airspace, the ministry said.

Paks Nuclear Plant Hungary
Read also Paks nuclear power plant’s Russian upgrade will continue

Russian plane that landed in Hungary despite EU ban delivered nuclear fuel!

Russian plane Hungary nuclear fuel

A giant Russian cargo plane arrived in Hungary on Wednesday. The plane needed a special permit to fly into Hungary. The reason for this is that Hungarian airspace, as in several countries of the European Union, was closed to Russian aircraft.

Russian aeroplane landed in Pápa

The Russian plane delivered nuclear fuel to Bratislava in mid-March, according to press reports, nuclear fuel ordered by the Slovak government. With this, the country managed to ensure the safe and smooth operation of the two Slovak nuclear plants, writes 24.hu. However, afterwards,

the machine transporting nuclear fuel came to Hungary.

On Thursday, Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, wrote on his Facebook page about why the plane arrived in Hungary. Szijjártó connected the Paks nuclear power plant with the Russian machine.

It provides 49.6 per cent of Hungary’s electricity production and accounts for more than a third of Hungary’s electricity consumption.

The operation of the Paks nuclear power plant requires nuclear fuel. Earlier, before the war, this fuel came from Russia via Ukraine. However, rail transport is currently not possible due to the war. Therefore, an alternative mode of transport had to be found.

A separate official permit is required

“Now, with the permission of all relevant authorities, the first shipment arrived in Pápa on the Belarus-Poland-Slovakia route by air on Wednesday morning,”

said Péter Szijjártó. The Foreign Minister also mentioned that another EU sanctions package against Russia is being negotiated. However, he added that it is important for the Hungarian government to take all activities related to nuclear energy.

The advantage of one’s own energy supply is very important,

Szijjártó pointed out in connection with the case. The importance of self-sufficiency in energy is now really evident after the Russian-Ukrainian war. This is the Paks nuclear power plant for Hungary. Due to this, Hungary is less exposed to the effects of the world market.

Economic crisis – Budapest Airport, Paks II and more projects to be postponed?

Budapest Airport

Viktor Orbán may have to let go of Budapest Airport, the super-hospital, the circular railway, Paks II and the Diákváros (Student City) as part of the forthcoming austerity measures.

Budapest Airport

budapest airport ferihegy
Source: Facebook/Budapest Airport

There is no doubt that there will be some austerity measures in the coming period. The questions are where and how they will be implemented. László Molnár, CEO of GKI Gazdaságkutató Zrt., told mfor.hu:

“It seems obvious that Viktor Orbán does not want to purchase back Budapest Airport Zrt in the foreseeable future – at least a year and a half. Officially, this would not be public investment, but the loan part would affect the state budget.”

Molnár added that the government simply does not have the resources, because now, among other things, it has to raise pensions and deal with the compensation for the cuts in public utility bills.

In October last year, the government made a HUF 1 500 billion (EUR 3.95 billion) bid for the company operating the airport. Since then, however, tourism has started to pick up and the traffic at Budapest Airport is improving.

Thus, the later negotiations start, the higher the price will be, which is already higher than last October.

Super-hospital

super-hospital budapest
The visual design of the super-hospital. Source: DBC Zrt.

The South Buda super-hospital is also a large project. Last summer, the head of the company that invested in the project told mfor.hu that the contstruction would cost about HUF 300 billion (EUR ~791 million). According to László Molnár, however, there is a strong consensus among health economists that it would be better to develop the existing hospital infrastructure rather than build a large hospital in a new location.

Paks II

paks ii visual plan
Not the final visual plan. Source: paks2.hu

When asked by mfor.hu about his opinion on the future of the Paks II project, László Molnár said he saw two possible scenarios.

  1. The NER companies, already involved in the project, will complete the preparatory work. This may take another year or two. In the meantime, it will become clear how strict the Western economic sanctions turn out to be. However, Rosatom will start construction, and the government will somehow manage to pay back the Russian investor in a roundabout way while also preferably negotiating the linked loan to be more favourable.
  2. Western companies, such as French ones, could be involved in the construction of the new block. It could be also beneficial if the EU classified nuclear energy as green-rated and thus green financing could be obtained. This would be a great gesture towards the EU which could also promote how environmentally friendly and sustainable the Orbán government is.

Finally, he said,

As a consequence of all this, the construction industry may also face fewer orders from the public sector. Earlier this week, the National Federation of Hungarian Building Contractors (ÉVOSZ) indicated that there could be approximately HUF 500 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) loss in state orders this year. A further HUF 100-200 billion (EUR 264-528 million) in orders cannot come in either because local governments will be in an even worse position than earlier. The best decision they can make is to postpone planned investments if they do not want to take out loans.

Ongoing projects

Even though a number of projects have been put on hold, there are still some that are in progress. One is the Budapest-Belgrade railway line, the other is the athletics stadium project.

According to mfor.hu, on the Soroksár-Kunszentmiklós-Tass section of the railway line, the number of P+R parking spaces will increase by at least 240 and the number of B+R bicycle parking spaces by at least 300.

The Finance Minister should allocate around HUF 3.3 billion (EUR 8.7 million) for various noise protection and other technical preparation work over the next three years.

The construction of the leisure park and sports fields next to the new athletics stadium is planned to be completed by next year’s World Athletics Championships. The government has given HUF 24.5 billion (EUR 64.7 million) to speed up the process.

media orbán
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Paks nuclear power plant’s Russian upgrade will continue

Paks Nuclear Plant Hungary

Concerning the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, PM Viktor Orbán said that Hungary had a general objection against the sanctions, but “since unity within the EU is important, Hungary approves such measures unless they do not impact vital Hungarian interests”.

Current plans for EU sanctions “affect no component of nuclear energy” therefore the Paks project “could continue under the agreements made earlier”, he said. The project, he added, had “suffered many attacks” without which the upgraded plant could have been operational by 2023 and “Hungary could take the current energy crisis more easily”.

On the subject of Hungary-Poland relations Orbán said that some issues such as around an aviation ban or extending sanctions to energy might make those ties more difficult, but added that “the Visegrád cooperation is not a geopolitical alliance aimed at making joint foreign policies but to promote their interests more efficiently within the EU”. “In this latter area cooperation continues to be smooth,” he added.

Asked about the EU’s rule of law mechanism against Hungary, Orbán said that reinforcing Hungary’s ties with Poland was paramount.

“Alone you cannot stand such a storm, but who knows… better not try,”

he said. Hungary and Poland is an “alliance of mutual protection” and one will not allow the other to be excluded from European decision making, he said. The two countries may have a number of differences in foreign policy but their cooperation should be active in the area where it can be most successful and that is “self-defence within the EU”, he insisted. Orbán said he had not received a letter concerning the EU launching the mechanism.

He said he did “not understand” the move as Hungary had not received “a single cent” from the recovery fund “therefore it has not been in a position to spend it unlawfully”.

Irrespective of the letter, “one thing is certain, Hungary will not send weapons to Ukraine and will not give in to any pressure aimed at rolling out sanctions against Russia to gas and oil, nor will it give in concerning gender issues,” he said.

Orbán said decisions by the European Commission and the European Parliament could “usually be explained by leftist political motivations”, adding that those decisions were “not fair, lawful or impartial”. Hungary “belongs to a minority within the EU that believes in nation states, which is conservative and Christian Democratic, and leftist groups in all institutions of the EU will try and help their Hungarian comrades, the Hungarian Left,” he insisted. The EU is before serious decisions that cannot be passed without Hungary, and “we will not be pious losers”, Orbán said.

In reply to a question, Orbán said the outcome of the French elections would decide if he initiated a new alliance within the European Parliament.

In his response to questions about the recent parliamentary election, Orbán said the opposition should analyse the causes that had led to its defeat, and then “stand up and pull itself together because Hungary needs a parliament in which there are voices other than the government’s”. It is in the country’s interest “to have sensible debates in parliament on serious issues, which requires an opposition,” he said.

Asked about the role of Ferenc Gyurcsány, head of the Democratic Coalition, in the opposition’s defeat, Orbán said

“being dishonest will lead to no good”

and insisted that “voters should not be underestimated; they will always know who is big boss”.

Orbán said his Fidesz party had strengthened its position in Budapest, too, garnering considerably more votes than in 2018. Concerning radical Mi Hazánk’s winning seats in parliament he suggested that the government would maintain its “zero tolerance for anti-Semitism”.

Concerning divisions in society, the prime minister said “after an election what they call re-unification of the nations is the winner’s responsibility” adding that it could be achieved through “issues reaching beyond political party borders”. Such subjects include “the gender issue”, he said, adding that in the referendum held simultaneously with the election “more people answered in support of the government than voted for Fidesz (in the election)”.

Sending a message to people that did not support Fidesz in the election Orbán quoted Churchill as saying that “success is not final, failure is not fatal”.

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Opposition: Paks upgrade would expose Hungary to Russian influence

Paks nuclear plant

Representatives of the united opposition said on Tuesday that the upgrade of the nuclear plant in Paks has become “untenable” because it would expose Hungary to Russian influence.

LMP’s Péter Ungár told an online press conference that the upgrade was a security risk because the construction was in the hands of “Russians who have also hacked the servers of the foreign ministry”. Lack of transparency also raises the threat of corruption, and the project could also lead to Hungary’s diplomatic isolation, he said. Continuing the investment would also mean that Hungary “does not tread the green path”, he said.

Rebeka Szabó (Párbeszéd), a candidate of the united opposition for the April 3 general election, called the upgrade a “total failure”.

The government agreed on the upgrade with Russia without allowing competition, and the construction has barely started, she said.

Contrary to the original plans, Russia would not handle used fuel rods, she said. Meanwhile, she insisted that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán “intentionally dialled down” projects on sustainable energy, and tied “the country’s entire energy policy to this risky project”.

Bernadett Szél, another opposition for the election, said

the upgrade was a “corruption scheme that had nothing to do with nuclear energy.”

She insisted that János Süli, the minister without portfolio responsible for the upgrade, did not have the impact studies and risk assessments on the project, “so no one knows why the government started it in the first place.”

Szél said that

“after the change of government,” the energy efficiency of residential buildings would have a priority.

The opposition plans to renovate 100,000 dwellings a year, she said. This would also help Hungary “sever the umbilical chord to gas”, another factor in the country’s dependence of Russia, she said.

As we wrote a few weeks ago, work on the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant is “proceeding according to plan”, the local unit of Russia’s Rosatom, the general contractor for the project, told regional news agency Paks-Press. Details HERE.

Russians may not build new reactors at Paks nuclear plant!?

Rosatom-Russia Orbán

Hungarian media reported yesterday that Russia’s Rosatom would not build the two new reactors of the Paks nuclear plant. The Russian firm already wrote that in a letter addressed to the Hungarian government. The company officially denied all such allegations. They added that the payment of the relevant Russian loan would be in Russia, so sanctions did not affect it. 

12.5 billion EUR for two new reactors

According to 24.hu, CEO Alexey Likhachev already wrote to the Hungarian government that they would not build the new reactors because of vis major. The unofficial explanation is that Russia would not like to invest in the EU because all such businesses might fall prey to sanctions. As we reported earlier, the extension of Paks costs 12.5 billion EUR. The Hungarian government planned to pay 10 billion of that from a Russian loan. The deadline for the payback would be 2046.

24.hu asked János Süli, the government commissioner responsible for the planning, construction and commissioning of the two new reactors at Paks Nuclear Power Plant, about Rosatom’s letter. However, he refused to reply. Meanwhile, Rosatom Central Europe Ltd answered immediately: the extension continues according to the plans. They added that the Russian Rosatom would fulfill its contractual obligations, including the project’s financing.

Sberbank to cause problems?

Rosatom Central Europe Ltd also cleared that even though Russia is out of the SWIFT international payment system, that is not a problem because all payments in the project are made in Russian territory. 

However, the bankruptcy of the Russian Sberbank might cause problems. The general contractor of the Paks nuclear power plant extension project is the Russian Atomstroyexport. It has a Hungarian subsidiary named ASE AO. However, the latter’s money was in the Sberbank, where 188 billion HUF of more than 1,000 firms “burned” thanks to the bank’s failure. ASE did not tell 24.hu how much money they lost. However, they spent 19 bn HUF in 2020 and 65 bn in 2019, and they had an account only in the Sberbank. Thus, their damage might reach billions of HUF (millions of EUR).

However, there is no information on whether the Paks project will suffer delay because of the Sberbank. But one of the subcontractors has already laid off some workers while other employees complained about late payments – rtl.hu reported last week. Rosatom Central Europe Ltd highlighted they would fulfill their financial obligations on time. 24.hu writes that the subcontractor might be ROIN World S.L.U., a company receiving its assignments from the Russian Atomstroyexport and working on nuclear power plant projects in Bangladesh and Turkey. The company has a Hungarian subsidiary.

Hungary owes nothing to Russia regarding Paks II

To sum up, Rosatom says there are no problems with the project. PM Viktor Orbán said earlier this month that Paks II would be built, and they would not modify the schedule. Meanwhile, Finland said they would cancel a similar project with Rosatom because its employees helped the Russian army seize the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Helsinki regards that as a violation of international law.

In the relevant contract between Russia and Hungary, there is no clarification on how a party can terminate it. However, experts say if the two states do not agree on the annual usable loan sum, the contract might end anyway. Moreover, Hungary has already prepaid all the money Russia lent. As a result, if the project ended, Budapest would have to pay nothing back.

 

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Could the Hungarian nuclear power plant withstand an attack?

Nuclear War Nuclear Outbreak Nuclear Fallout

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for three and a half weeks and the number of refugees trying to flee the conflicts is unwavering. According to recent sources, the Russian army is said to be using a special rocket and is projected to take over strategic locations such as nuclear plants. So the question arises: could the Hungarian nuclear power plant withstand a Russian attack? 

Many people are worried that the conflict could escalate even further and affect countries neighbouring Ukraine. Some people are even afraid of what might happen if the Hungarian nuclear power plant in Paks suffers a hit.

While this question is somewhat far-fetched, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has said that they are ready to order an “enhanced physical protection”. Index asked an expert to explain this term in further detail and shed some light on the dangers a potential direct hit would pose.

Since the Russian forces took over Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the International Atomic Energy Agency called on ending the hostilities. In addition, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has put forth the potential need for an “enhanced physical protection” at the Paks nuclear power plant.

What does enhanced physical protection mean?

Máté Szieberth, Associate Professor and Head of Department at the Institute of Nuclear Techniques of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, said that “the Paks nuclear power plant is an important strategic location and is under constant protection by a team of armed security personnel, but in case of heightened danger, such as a war, terrorist or other threat, they can order an ‘enhanced physical protection’ which would involve the Hungarian law enforcement authorities’ help (military, police, air- and cyber defence).

If the situation requires it, they can order immediate austerity measures, however, these are confidential and will be determined by the severity of the threat.

In case of an attack, reactor units are shut down just like it was ordered at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station recently.

While the reaction can be immediately interrupted, the radioactive decay will result in emitting heat for days before it declines, but some heat will still be generated even after years, so the continuous cooling of spent fuel is important.

Nuclear power plants are not designed to withstand attacks

The expert told Index that it is hard to say what might happen during an attack.

Szieberth said that nuclear power plants are continuously updated for emergencies which can occur during peaceful times but they are not necessarily equipped to ward off military attacks.

The associate professor added that during peaceful times, even passenger airplanes are prohibited to directly fly over nuclear plants and international conventions also prohibit the attack of nuclear power plants.

Nuclear plants are heavily armoured 

While they are not designed to protect from outside forces, since safety considerations became important after the Chernobyl disaster, the reactor units have been updated with 15-centimetres-thick steel protection tanks, which can withstand pressures exceeding the atmospheric pressure by 120 times.

Additionally, these thick steel tanks are encased in solid reinforced concrete structures to provide further protection.

According to the associate professor, if an attack hit the spent fuel and radioactive waste repositories, the materials would be scattered within a range of a few hundred metres and even a large explosion could only cause local contamination.

Attacking modern reactors would not cause such large contamination as the Chernobyl disaster, which spread radioactive dust and smoke over half of Europe.

In any way, the expert said that there is no point in attacking a nuclear power plant since the radioactive contamination can reach the attackers as well.

Survey: Hungary could be the next Russian target

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Green party launches petition against Hungary’s nuclear plant

Paks Nuclear Plant Hungary

Opposition LMP is launching a petition against the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant, the party’s co-leader said on Sunday.

Speaking at an online press conference, Máté Kanász-Nagy said the attack on Ukraine had made it clear that the less dependent Hungary was on Russia, the safer it was.

“President Putin himself said that his ultimate goal is to make post-Socialist countries, including Hungary, leave NATO,” Kanász-Nagy said.

Yet, the government insists on the “crazy idea to build new blocks in Paks with thousands of billions of forints of Russian credit and Russian technology,” he said, “thereby making even our grandchildren dependent on Russia.”

Kanász-Nagy said the Paks expansion must be prevented, and this could be done now, if as many people demanded it as loudly as possible.

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Opposition calls for terminating Paks nuclear plant upgrade

paks

The united opposition on Tuesday called on the government to terminate the Hungarian-Russian contract on the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant, in view of the Russian attack on Ukraine.

László Lóránt Keresztes, the parliamentary group leader of LMP, said Russian disregard for nuclear security was apparent in President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear forces on alert, in the Russian army’s attack on nuclear waste disposal sites and occupation of the nuclear plant’s premises in Chernobyl.

Keresztes said a nuclear waste management site “cannot be set up” near a city as it is planned near Pécs, in southern Hungary.

György Buzinkay, of the Momentum Movement, said a strong and independent Ukraine was in Hungary’s interest, partly because it would “keep Russia as far away from us as possible”.

“The EU, NATO and Hungary itself has to provide all aid in its power to help Ukraine in defeating the dictator Putin,” he said.

Buzinkay also called for the formerly Moscow-based International Investment Bank (IIB), “and the spies employed there”, to be expelled from Hungary, and for freezing the Hungarian assets of “Russian oligarchs”.

Olivio Kocsis-Cake, the deputy parliamentary group leader of the Párbeszéd party, noted that the EU sanctions imposed on Russia were also hitting the Russian bank financing the Paks upgrade. The state has so far ploughed some 300 billion forints (EUR 809m) into the project, he said, accusing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President János Áder to be “personally responsible for the unfavourable contract”.

Rather than a nuclear plant upgrade, Kocsis-Cake said

Hungary should initiate talks with the Visegrad Group and other neighbouring countries on sharing energy from renewable resources.

He called for a household energy efficiency programme, and for eliminating “factors standing in the way of the construction of solar and wind plants”.

As we wrote yesterday, work on the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant is “proceeding according to plan”, the local unit of Russia’s Rosatom, the general contractor for the project, told regional news agency Paks-Press on Monday. Details HERE.

Despite Putin’s nuclear threat, Russia will build the Paks II nuclear plant! – UPDATED

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Work on the upgrade of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant is “proceeding according to plan”, the local unit of Russia’s Rosatom, the general contractor for the project, told regional news agency Paks-Press on Monday.

“Rosatom has always fulfilled and is fulfilling all of its contractual obligations,” Rosatom Central Europe told Paks-Press.

The state of Russia is financing 80 percent of the cost of building two more blocks at the Paks nuclear power plant which accounts for about half of domestic electricity generation.

In the meantime, an adviser to the opposition Párbeszéd party called on the government to terminate the contract to expand the plant.

Due to the recent sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU and other international players, the project has become “unrealisable in practice”,

Benedek Jávor said.

A former MEP, Jávor added that the sober-minded were aware that projects enhancing dependence on Russia undermined the security of the country concerned, as well as that of the European Union as a whole. Jávor blamed the government of having rushed into the Paks 2 project, and “putting all its eggs in one basket” by discouraging the use of wind power and alternative sources of energy.

Meanwhile, the government’s aid programme to help Ukrainian citizens fleeing from war has collected 65 million forints (EUR 178,000) in donations, government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said on Monday. The programme was launched on Friday “to help ethnic Hungarians and anyone fleeing Ukraine for their lives”, the prime minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said last week.

Aid centres set up on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border will receive 10 million forints each of the funds, which were collected through a phone line and charity organsations.

Miklós Soltész, the state secretary for church and state relations and head of the National Humanitarian Coordination Council, said the aid points further inland in the localities of Lónya, Barabás, Beregsurány and Tiszabecs would also receive support to “ensure order and free passage” near the border.

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Read also Ukrainian guest workers demonstrated for peace in Hungary

LMP: Paks nuclear plant investment ‘will not go ahead in current form’ if opposition wins

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If the united opposition wins the April 3 general election, the project to expand the Paks nuclear power plant “will not be implemented in its current form”, Máté Kanász-Nagy, LMP’s co-leader, said on Wednesday.

The Russian-Ukrainian situation “makes it abundantly clear” that as long as Europe and Hungary depend on Russia for energy supplies, these “cannot be secure”, he told an online press briefing.

The LMP politician welcomed the German government’s decision withhold approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

He added that

energy security depended on Hungary producing its own energy, and this meant investing in renewables.

He insisted that the government’s energy policy over the past ten years had gone in the wrong direction.

“LMP believes that expansion contracts and agreements should be terminated as soon as possible,”

he said. “The investment cannot be an option while Russia invades one of our neighbours.”

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Read alsoThis is how the Russians will build Paks II nuclear plant in Hungary

Here is what Orbán and Putin talked about behind closed doors!

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PM Viktor Orbán said in his today morning interview to Kossuth Rádió that during the five-hour talks with Putin, he made nine proposals and achieved to reach agreement on eight of them. “We have put a lot of work intohaving good relations with Russia,” he said. “We had bad relations with the Soviet Union,” he said, adding “that era has ended and we are making efforts now to have a different system of relations with the new Russia.” Hungary wants peace and to reduce tensions, which requires talks, he said. “We will hold many long negotiations with Russia, and Hungary has made the first step,” he added

The prime minister said Hungary had prestige and independent policies. “Hungarian interests have a presence in the world,” he added. “This is especially true of the economy,” he said, adding that Hungary was attracting big investments, money and factories.

Orbán said Hungary was on the way to being the first country in Europe to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to no more than 10 percent of the energy mix by 2030.

“Hungary is already a climate champion”

and a leader in reducing emissions, the prime minister said.

He noted the role of the expansion of the Paks nuclear plant and the country’s solar power plants in the process of creating energy independence. Until this is achieved, Russian gas is key to maintaining Hungary’s energy system, the prime minister said. The minister of foreign affairs and trade has secured 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year for fifteen years and the possibility of increasing this by another 1 billion. An agreement is almost in hand, he said, adding that negotiations were under way.

Orbán said people in western Europe were suffering because their governments had not concluded a long-term contract with Russia and they were “running out of reserves”. Hungary, by contrast, has guaranteed supplies of Russian gas and this would make the continuation of cheap household bills possible.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said Sputnik and Sputnik light would be in great demand around the world, and Hungary would be able to co-produce the Russian vaccine. He added that Hungarians would continue to be able to choose from a wide variety of vaccines.

Noting EU efforts to ensure European production capacities are up to scratch during a crisis such as the current one, he said Hungary has applied to be a part of the European production network and had accordingly proposed the Debrecen plant under construction.

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Read alsoPutin: Hungary ‘reliable partner’ in Russian gas transit deliveries

PM Orbán meets with President Putin in Moscow

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Hungary aims to negotiate an increase in the volume of natural gas delivered to Hungary under its long-term gas contract with Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after meeting President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

President Putin said the gas contract in force until 2036 ensured Hungary’s long-term stability.

Under the contract, Hungary can also purchase gas well below the market price, Putin added.

Orban called the contract “very important”, adding that Hungary aimed to negotiate an increase of the gas volume therein.

The prime minister also thanked Putin for Russia’s deliveries of coronavirus vaccines, noting that some 900,000 Hungarians were inoculated with Sputnik V.

Orbán said that despite the current “difficult times”, 2021 had been the most successful year in bilateral cooperation with Russia. The coronavirus pandemic and energy supplies, he added, had been the biggest challenges.

Orbán noted that he had met with Putin twelve times during the past thirteen years. “The two of us have had the longest history in EU-Russia ties,” he added.

Regarding Ukraine, Orbán said his visit to Moscow was “also a peace mission”.

The European Union is “ready for a reasonable agreement … not a single EU leader wants war,” he said.

Putin noted that Moscow has sent its proposals concerning international security to NATO and the US.

Concerning the upcoming election in Hungary, Orbán and Putin expressed their readiness to pursue cooperation in the long run. Orbán said:

“I’d like to win, and I’ve have a firm hope that we’ll be cooperating for years to come.”

Putin said they had achieved much together “for the benefit of the people”, adding he hoped that their joint efforts would continue.

Both Orbán and Putin praised bilateral business cooperation.

Orbán said cooperation related to the Paks nuclear power plant was “progressing fantastically”, and the Hungarian investments, which were also approved by the Russian government, had taken place, adding that he would put forward proposals to further develop cooperation in this area.

Putin noted that bilateral trade turnover increased by 30 percent in the first 11 months of last year, adding that besides nuclear energy, major projects in engineering were also taking place between the two countries.

Paks nuclear power plant development by Russia to start this May

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European and global climate goals are impossible to achieve without the use of nuclear energy, the Hungarian foreign minister said after talks with Russia’s deputy prime minister in charge of energy, on Thursday.
 
Péter Szijjártó held talks online with Alexander Novak which focused on European nuclear energy regulations.
 
In a Facebook post, he said that “thanks in large part to its Paks nuclear power plant, Hungary is among the 21 countries in the world that have been able to cut their greenhouse gas emissions while increasing their economic output.” The construction of the new Paks plant will allow Hungary to prevent the emission of 17 million tonnes of harmful gases a year, he added.
 
 
He welcomed the emergence of a strong alliance led by France within the European Union taking on the task of lobbying Brussels towards labeling nuclear energy as a sustainable and environment-friendly energy source.
 
Szijjártó said he had briefed the Russian deputy prime minister about his talks on Wednesday with the executives of Rosatom, the general contractor of the Paks upgrade, and their approval of the schedule of the project for the next months. “If the permits submitted get approved,
 
the project can enter the implementation phase in May,“
 
he said.
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Read alsoTwo new blocks in Paks expected to produce electricity in 2029-2030