Hungary on Thursday denied media reports that the European Union has blocked a €10 billion euro nuclear deal between the EU country and Russia.
The Financial Times (FT) hadreportedthatthe planned construction of two 1,200-megawatt nuclear reactors for the expansion of the Soviet-era nuclear power plant in the Hungarian town of Paks, was blocked by the European regulator Euratom.
The nuclear deal between Hungary and Russia was signed last year and Moscow offered the billion euro loan to Budapest on condition that the money would pay for the Russia equipment. According to Russian news agency RT, the new reactors would have to be loaded with Russian-made fuel rods.
According to a report by Reuters, EU sources confirmed the FT report. An EU source told Reuters some hours before that objections by Euratom had been upheld by the Commission and Hungary may have to review the deal. “If the Russians now refuse to modify the original contracts, this will be the end of the road for the project,” Jávor Benedek, a Hungarian member of the European Parliament, told FT on Thursday. “The report is very clear that the fuel supply agreement does not comply with European law.”
Late on Thursday, Hungary's Cabinet State Secretary András Giró-Szász “firmly denied” the FT report in a statement to Hungarian state news service MTI, Agence France-Presse and the Press Trust of Indiareported. “It is not true that the EU has blocked the Paks II construction,” Giró-Szász said, and added that he has asked FT to issue a correction.
The European Commission and Euratom didn’t comment.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/hungary-claims-nuclear-deal-russia-not-blocked