Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár announced at a press conference on Monday that the European Commission has approved the nuclear fuel supply contract between Hungary and Russia.
The Commission informed the Hungarian government on Monday in an official letter that Euratom Supply Agency has signed the contract between the two countries.
The Minister pointed out that, with this step, all obstacles to maintaining the capacity of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant have been removed.
The Minister called the Commission’s approval a milestone, with which the implementation of the project aimed at maintaining and extending the capacity of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant has taken a big step forward. “It is no longer a question of whether maintaining the capacity can be realised; the question now is how it is going to be realised”, he added.
Answering a question, Mr. Lázár said that the project is currently not in delay; construction may begin in 2018.
The Minister recalled that one and a half months ago there were reports that the Supply Agency and the European Commission had blocked the Hungarian-Russian nuclear cooperation. At that time, he said, the Government had made it clear that this was not the case, and that in fact the parties were going to closely cooperate in order to settle the difference of opinion. As a result of constructive negotiations, the European Commission has signed the Hungarian-Russian agreement, thus discussions on this matter have been concluded, he explained.
Mr. Lázár emphasised that it has been a great success for the Government to have been able to convince the Commission that this agreement is about Europe’s security of energy supply and Hungary’s energy and gas independence, and not about increasing Hungary’s dependence on Russia.
He explained that Hungary has concluded three agreements with Russia: on the construction of the nuclear power plant; on its operation; and on the supply of nuclear fuel for the facility. He added that the European Commission’s direct approval was necessary for the third agreement.
Mr. Lázár pointed out that the Government is still in discussion with the European Commission. There are two more issues to be clarified: questions concerning competition law and procurement.
Throughout the implementation of the project, contractors must be chosen in a way that complies with EU public procurement regulations, Mr. Lázár said. He added that this requirement is in line with the intentions of the Hungarian government and with the interests of Hungary.