Billions in loans from Moscow
Hungary lets Russia build two nuclear power plants
08/27/2022, 12:15 p.m
While many EU countries are keeping their ties with Russia to a minimum, Budapest is hardly distancing itself from Moscow. But on the contrary. The country begins building two new nuclear power plants with Russian money and technology.
According to the Hungarian government, the Russian energy company Rosatom will start building two new nuclear reactors in the country in the coming weeks. “This is a big step, an important milestone,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook. “In this way, we ensure Hungary’s energy security in the long term and protect Hungarians from sharp fluctuations in energy prices.”
The project is largely financed by a loan from Russia. On Thursday, the responsible Hungarian regulatory authority gave its approval to the new building, which would cost the equivalent of 12.5 billion euros. A start of operation of the new reactor in 2023 is “realistic”, said Szijarto. “We can now move from the planning phase to construction.”
The construction activity will be visible in the coming weeks at the site of the new reactors – the nuclear power plant in Paks, 100 kilometers south of Budapest, which has been in operation since the 1980s. The Akw Paks currently supplies about 40 percent of Hungary’s electricity needs.
Distance to EU course
The contract to build the two new reactors between Hungary and Rosatom was signed in 2014. According to him, the piles should have an output of 1,200 megawatts each. Russia is funding the lion’s share of the project through a €10 billion loan to Hungary. Budapest will take over the remaining 2.5 billion.
Finland canceled a similar contract with Rosatom to build a nuclear reactor in May. For months, Budapest has been criticizing the EU’s sanctions policy against Russia as a result of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In mid-August, Russia began supplying more gas to Hungary than originally agreed under a special agreement. The country is particularly dependent on Russian energy imports. Because of the war in Ukraine, many EU countries are trying to reduce their dependence on Russian energy supplies.