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Hungary will not support anything that would jeopardize the construction of the Paks power plant and by extension Hungary’s nuclear energy capacity, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Vienna.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó attended the plenary session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Assembly in Vienna on Monday.
Speaking to the Hungarian public media, the Minister warned that the European Union is heading for recession, is facing very serious energy supply problems, and energy prices are currently skyrocketing. In this situation, the importance of nuclear energy will increase, he said.
He pointed out that it must be made clear that without nuclear energy there is no secure energy supply, no affordable energy in Europe. “Nuclear energy capacities reduce dependency in a fully energy-dependent environment, so it can be said that nuclear energy capacity equals our sovereignty,” Szijjártó explained, referring to the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant.
He recalled that the EU is preparing another package of sanctions. There is a red line for Hungary on this issue, saying: “we will not support any measures that would endanger our energy supply, directly or indirectly.” This is why Hungary does not support the sanctioning of technical, construction and IT services, Szijjártó explained, adding:
“there is no Russian or even Ukrainian aspect to this, only the Hungarian national interest.”
Szijjártó held talks with the director general of Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev. “Hungary is constructing a new nuclear power plant to guarantee its long-term energy supply, protect its environment, and keep the regulated price regime for household utilities in force,” he told MTI.
Photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter
Szijjártó and Likhachev discussed steps to be taken in the coming months so that construction of the first concrete structures of the two new blocks of the Paks nuclear power plant can start in autumn next year, the news agency added. “Several efforts to thwart the project have been made, but we will not yield to pressure,” Szijjártó stressed.
Featured photo via Facebook/MVM Paksi Atomerőmű Zrt.