Hungary says it will not support EU sanctions against Russian nuclear power

Hungary will not support EU sanctions against Russian nuclear power, which could harm its national interests. According to TASS, this was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary, Peter Szijjártó, who is taking part in a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

“Hungary will by no means agree to any sanctions against the nuclear industry to the extent that it will harm the Hungarian national interests. This is absolutely unacceptable, and we urge other EU countries not to experiment with nuclear sanctions, because they will jeopardize Hungary’s energy supply, and this cannot be the goal of the measures that the EU is taking,” Szijjártó said.

The minister said that his colleagues from other EU countries were interested in whether Hungary could “change its position a little” so that sanctions against Russian enterprises and organizations in the nuclear industry were adopted. Szijjártó said he explained that Hungary could not agree to this, as it would jeopardize its energy security. He recalled that half of the electricity generated and a third of the electricity consumed in the country is provided by the Paks nuclear power plant, which runs on Russian nuclear fuel.

In addition, Hungary is counting on the construction, together with Rosatom, by the beginning of the 2030s of the second stage of the nuclear power plant in Paks, without which it will also not be able to ensure its energy security in the future. “If investment in the Paks 2 project becomes impossible, then Hungary will not be able to produce the electricity needed to run the economy in the next decade,” Szijjártó explained. According to him, “sanctions in the nuclear field will mean that Hungary will not be able to provide itself with electricity.”