Hungary will review the funding and execution of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant expansion project, the country’s nominee for economy and energy affairs minister said Monday, as the new government outlined its agenda following a sweeping election victory.
The 12.5-billion-euro ($14.7 billion) project to expand the 2-gigawatt Paks nuclear power plant with two Russian-made VVER reactors was awarded in 2014 without a tender to Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and has been delayed by years.
Hungar-Russia Ties
Political observers often cited the project as a prime example of the close ties between Budapest and Moscow under former prime minister Viktor Orban, which the incoming government has vowed to change as part of a push to mend relations with the European Union.
“We have to review the financing and costs of Paks 2 (expansion project) and its implementation conditions. These are classified contracts, which we have not yet seen, we need to examine them,” Istvan Kapitany told a parliamentary hearing.
Centre-right leader Peter Magyar, who was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday, said last month that the cost of the project was over-inflated. Rosatom said it was ready to justify the price tag.
Kapitany said that nuclear power would continue to play an important role in Hungary.
He also vowed to fight corruption. Critics of Viktor Orban say graft was rampant under his rule, something the former prime minister denies.
‘Russia Will Remain A Partner’
The nominee for foreign minister Anita Orban told a separate committee that Hungary wanted to have an equal and transparent relationship with Russia.
“Russia will remain a partner but the relationship cannot be based on a one-sided dependency,” she said. “In the current geopolitical situation it is clear that Russia’s policies are posing a security challenge to Hungary and Europe.”
She said her first task would be to rebuild trust in Hungary which was eroded under the previous government.
Under Orban, Hungary was in almost constant conflict with the EU over issues ranging from the rule of law to minority rights. Budapest’s continued close ties to Moscow despite Russia’s war in Ukraine combined with its decision to block funds for Kyiv strained relations even further.
(With inputs from Reuters)
