Rosatom has begun construction of a nuclear power plant in Hungary

This was reported by Greenpeace.

“The project is financed by russia through billion-dollar loans to Hungary, which violates European Union law,” the statement said.

“The nuclear power plant technology is supplied by the russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and is a VVER-1200 type reactor. The controversial project was developed almost two decades ago,” Greenpeace notes.

Greenpeace and the Hungarian public have challenged these plans as dangerous and uneconomical.

Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev and International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi attended the start of construction.

The IAEA Director General called the start of construction “a great day for russia” and congratulated Rosatom on its nuclear cooperation with the IAEA, calling it their shared responsibility in the field of energy based on safety and security, according to the publication.

A statement by the Hungarian branch of Greenpeace said that the project is a serious political risk and moral irresponsibility on the part of the Hungarian government, which has begun pouring concrete at the russian Paks II nuclear power plant.

“This step is an open political statement: Hungary supports war, opacity, and the russian state nuclear industry. Hungary has begun construction of a nuclear power plant together with Rosatom, which is complicit in war crimes, nuclear blackmail, and threats to the civilian population in Ukraine,” the statement said.

The network calls Rosatom a criminal russian nuclear enterprise that is actively involved in the occupation of Ukraine, plays a leading role in the armed seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and contributes to the militarization of an operating nuclear power plant, which is an unprecedented step in the history of nuclear energy.

“According to reports from Ukrainian NGOs and international human rights defenders, Rosatom has forcibly integrated the plant's employees into the occupation system. There have also been reports of illegal detention, intimidation, and torture,” the statement said.

All this seriously violates the principles of the IAEA and creates a nuclear threat to the whole of Europe. By pouring concrete at Paks II, Hungary is not only laying the foundation for a power plant, but also creating long-term political dependence on russia, which started the war against Ukraine.

Rosatom has so far avoided severe EU sanctions. French and German giants, including Framatome and Siemens, continue to provide strategic technologies and expertise for Rosatom projects, including instruments and control systems that are the “brains” of nuclear power plants.

“This technological cooperation is an indirect contribution to russia's geopolitical influence and military capabilities. Hungary is an active participant in this system, as it consistently blocks EU sanctions against Rosatom and accelerates investment in the Paks II project,” the statement said.

Exempting Rosatom from sanctions is also not unprecedented in US policy. Last year, the US administration lifted financial sanctions against Russian banks to allow financing for the Paks II project.

“This practice makes it clear that Rosatom's ‘immunity’ is the result of deliberate geopolitical decisions, in which the Hungarian government is also involved, accelerating the implementation of the project,” Greenpeace notes.

All this is happening within the framework of a nuclear project that is burdened with serious legal and democratic shortcomings. The European Court of Justice overturned the Commission's decision to approve state aid for the Paks II project because the contract, concluded with a russian company without a competitive tender, was not reviewed and violated EU law.

The Hungarian government also received a rare formal warning under the Aarhus Convention because for many years it did not provide the public with access to the analyses underlying the Paks II project.

“Paks II” is based on expensive, outdated, risky technology that distracts from the development of renewable energy sources while increasing the country's political and economic vulnerability to russia. This is not energy security, but dependence. This is not climate protection, but risk. This is not progress, but a decision stuck in the past," the statement said.

Source: Economic Pravda