The European General Court has dismissed a case brought by the Austrian government to annul the European Commission's decision to approve state aid for the Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary.

Hungary's National Atomic Energy Office has today granted a construction licence for two VVER-1200 reactors at the Paks II nuclear power plant site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says Hungary has taken "significant steps to improve its preparedness for nuclear and radiological emergencies" since an initial IAEA Emergency Preparedness Review in 2016.

The Hungarian government has organised energy issues, including the Paks II project, to be under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, citing the changing situation in energy as well as around the project to build a Russian-supplied nuclear power plant.

Hungary says that Russia’s Rosatom has given reassurances that "in terms of technology they are able to complete the project", with Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó looking forward to the construction entering its next phase.

Hungary is committed to the safe and effective management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded. However, it noted areas where it could be further enhanced.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's curriculum review at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics concluded the degree programme was "robust" and was "producing graduates with an excellent breadth and depth of knowledge".

 

An application to build the containment building of the first new unit at Hungary's Paks II nuclear power plant has been submitted. Project company Atomerőmű Zrt said it should be approved within 150 days. Meanwhile, Hungary's nuclear regulator has assumed a new, more independent, legal status.

Ministers from Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland (the Visegrad 4) met in Paks and agreed: "Without nuclear power it will not be possible to achieve the goals of climate neutrality." They called on the European Commission to approve its inclusion in the taxonomy of sustainable investments.

The Hungarian parliament has adopted changes to the country's Atomic Act which will give the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority more control over its structure and staffing. The changes appear to be a response to missed deadlines for decision-making on the Paks II new build project.
 

Licensing of the planned Paks II nuclear power plant has been delayed, the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has announced. The organisation said it needs more time "to fully verify all requirements," but did not give an updated timeline for approval to construct the new reactors.

Hungary will start repaying the Russian loan for the Paks II project in 2031, five years later than originally agreed, Hungary's Finance Ministry has announced. This amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for the EUR12.5 billion (USD15.1 billion) project means that income from the new nuclear power plant can help repay the loan, but it does not change the rate of interest on the loan nor the option to pay it off early, it added.