János Lázár will have talks in Brussels regarding the project which is designed to maintain the capacity of the Paks atomic power station.
The Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, who is expecting to see major progress as a result of his visit on 27 May, will meet with European Commissioner for Competition Margarete Vestager in the Belgian capital. As it did in the past, the Hungarian Government is seeking to reach an agreement also on this occasion, and to avoid court proceedings.
In the Cabinet’s view the Paks II Project contains no state aid, is competitive and is capable of recovering the initial investment also amidst free market circumstances. In other words, the two new Paks blocks will contribute to enhanced supply security, the attainment of Hungary’s climate protection goals and the maintenance of affordable electricity prices without there being a need for any kind of guaranteed electricity purchase price or any other state aid.
It is important to stress that the Hungarian Government is ready to consider the European Commission’s expectations. From among these, it is particularly important that the power plant should sell the electricity to be generated in the new facility under the same market conditions, should guarantee not to provide a competitive advantage for state players and, based on the European Union’s governing law, cannot form part of the electricity company Magyar Villamos Művek. The Government will consider the European Union’s view on the absence or existence of state aid.
We are convinced that, pursuant to the treaties of the European Union, every Member State has the right to determine its own energy policy, including the energy mix of its electricity production. The Hungarian Parliament has confirmed in every parliamentary cycle since 2009 that it agrees with the long-term maintenance of the current percentage of atomic energy production as it provides for the safe supply of the Hungarian population and industry with cheap electricity.