EU Gives Green Light to Paks Nuclear Plant Extension

The European Commission has approved amendments to the contracts for the expansion of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, allowing the project to be accelerated, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday.

The modifications to the contracts and the European Union’s approval will make it possible for the plant’s new units to be commissioned at the beginning of the next decade, with the project applying the strictest nuclear regulations, Szijjártó said on Facebook.

The Paks project guarantees the long-term security of Hungary’s energy supply,

the minister said. According to Szijjártó, recent months have shown that countries that can produce as much of their own energy as possible will be the most secure in the coming period. Hungary’s natural resources and geographical location make nuclear energy the most suitable means of protecting the country from the uncertainties of the international markets, he said.

Szijjártó noted that the Hungarian government reached an agreement with the Russian government and Rosatom on the amendments to the contracts in April, adding that they could only come into force after being approved by the EU.

According to the CEO of Rosatom, the Paks project is very important to them and they want to implement it even faster than planned, Index reported. “Despite the pandemic and the sanctions, Rosatom’s specialists have not stopped the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary for a single minute,” said Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom, at the Nevsky International Environmental Congress. He said their Hungarian partners “want to move the project forward even faster so that the country has its first unit by the end of the decade.” “This requires some organizational and legal efforts. We will do our utmost not to let our colleagues down,” the Rosatom chief said.

Featured photo via Facebook/Paks II. Atomerőmű Zrt.