Ukraine asked the EC to cancel the permission of Rosatom to build the second stage of a nuclear power plant in Hungary

Ukraine has sent a note to the European Commission (EC) demanding to reconsider the decision allowing Rosatom to continue construction of the second stage of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

“We expect that the previous decision on the implementation by Rosatom of the project to build nuclear reactors in Hungary will be reviewed,” Mr. Shmyhal said in a statement.

In his opinion, the participation of Rosatom in such a project is impossible after the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP. Mr. Shmyhal also said that sanctions against Russia need to be strengthened, including in the field of nuclear energy.

Paks NPP is the only operating nuclear power plant in Hungary. The first stage of the nuclear power plant was built back in the 1970s with the help of the USSR. In 2014, Russia and Hungary signed an agreement on the construction of the second stage of the Paks NPP – two power units. Construction of the block pit began in September 2022.

In April 2023, the EC approved amendments to the agreement on the construction of power units. The document allows the Russian state corporation, as an exception, to carry out work on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Hungary. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary explainedthat the need for additional coordination of Rosatom’s participation in the project for the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary arose due to the fact that initially agreements with the Russian state corporation were concluded in 2014 and since then “life and technological changes” have taken place.

Olesya Pavlenko