Paks II: court ruling does not limit or slow down investment according to government reactions

The decision of the European Court of Justice does not in any way limit or slow down the Paks II. investment, the Foreign Ministry's statement quoted Péter Szíjjártó as saying on Thursday. The Foreign Minister stressed that the court ruled against the European Commission.

At a joint press conference with his Austrian counterpart Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the Minister stressed in connection with the European Court of Justice ruling on state aid for the Paks expansion: "Before Hungary and the counter-producers of Hungarian energy security break out the champagne, I would like to make it clear that the European Court of Justice has annulled a previous decision of the European Commission."

He then pointed out that the Government continues to see the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant as the main pillar of Hungary's energy security in the future.

"This court decision does not in any way limit or slow down the progress of the investment, on the contrary, we have accelerated this investment in the recent period"

- he underlined. "And at the beginning of the next decade, we will connect both units of the new Paks nuclear power plant to the grid, thus taking a huge step forward in guaranteeing Hungary's energy security", Szijjártó added.

Investment can continue in the same way, according to the other minister

János Bóka, Hungary's Minister for European Union Affairs, also reacted to the European Commission's decision at Thursday's Cabinet meeting. He pointed out that the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union had not found any EU infringement against Hungary. "It found that in its earlier decision, which was declared lawful, the Commission did not examine whether the public procurement procedures applied to the Paks II investment project complied with EU rules in the context of state aid," the minister said.

He pointed out that the court did not find that the investment did not comply with the rules. "The implication for Hungary is that they are acting in full compliance with EU law and the requirement of loyal cooperation. The Paks investment can continue in the same way."

Roszatom also confirmed the continuation

The project promoter Roszatom also spoke out on Thursday. According to a statement sent to our newspaper, the Russian state nuclear energy company will continue the implementation of the Paks II Nuclear Power Plant project together with its Hungarian partners.

They stressed that the project is important for the Hungarian economy.

"The commissioning of the nuclear power plant will provide the country with a stable, affordable source of electricity. The Roszatom State Enterprise will continue to give priority to the implementation of the project in accordance with the highest international safety standards and in full compliance with contractual obligations."