BRUSSELS
The European Union will not block a planned expansion of Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant by Russia's state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom, a European Commission spokeswoman said Friday.
Hungary allowed Russia's Rosatom's building of two nuclear power blocks each with a 1,200 megawatt capacity last year – a move which drew the EU's criticism of member state Hungary shifting closer to Russia.
Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters in Brussels on Friday: "No, we are not blocking the construction of Paks; this is just the fuel supply agreement that has been dealt with by the Commission.
"The European Atomic Energy Community had refused to approve Hungary’s plans to import nuclear fuel exclusively from Russia, a decision which was backed by the European Commission.
According to the Euratom Treaty signed in 1957, which the European Union takes as a legal basis for its intervention in the Hungary Russia nuclear Paks expansion, the acquisition of nuclear heating material from one single source is against regulations.
However, the Hungarian government released a statement on Friday saying it hopes the fuel supply contract will be finalized.
The statement added: "Our expectation is that, following intensive negotiations, the fuel supply contract will be finalized in line with Euratom requirements in a matter of weeks."
The European Commission also declined to explain, on the basis of confidentiality, its decision over Hungary's proposal to buy nuclear fuel from Russia. However, in accordance with the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission has the right to block the project if Hungary fails to diversify its heating suppliers as currently the heating material is single-sourced from Russia.
According to a report in the Financial Times today, competition investigators from the European Commission are also looking at state subsidies and the legality of contracts awarded to Rosatom and its affiliates without a tender.
