Hungary's commitment to nuclear power reflects its dedication to meeting ambitious global climate change targets as outlined by the International Energy Agency, government officials told delegates at the Budapest Energy Summit last week. Hungary joined the IEA in 1997.

The European Commission has cleared Hungary's award of a contract to Russia's Rosatom to build two new units at the Paks nuclear power plant.

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority announced today that MVM Paks II has submitted a site licence application for two new units it plans to build at the Paks site.

An International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts has concluded that the Paks nuclear power plant has improved operational safety by following recommendations and suggestions made in a 2014 IAEA review, but noted that further work is needed. The Operational Safety Review Team completed a five-day follow-up mission to the four-unit plant in central Hungary today.

Hungary's plan to build two additional reactors at Paks has reached an important milestone with the receipt of an environmental licence for the project, Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for Paks II, told World Nuclear News yesterday. It confirms the project meets the environmental requirements of both Hungary and those of the European Union.

The European Commission is expected to issue a decision "within weeks" on Hungary's plan to build two additional reactors at Paks, Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for Paks II, said last week. The submission of the site licence application for the new Russian-built VVER-1200 units to Hungary's regulator is scheduled for the end of October, Aszódi told delegates at the World Nuclear Association's 41st Annual Symposium in London on 16 September.

Hungary has signed agreements with the United Arab Emirates covering nuclear energy and other sectors, the country's foreign ministry announced on 2 March. The documents were signed during Hungarian minister of foreign affairs and trade Péter Szijjártó's two-day visit to Dubai and Abu Dhabi this week.

Hungary has agreed to further cooperation with Iran on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, its minister of foreign affairs and trade, Péter Szijjártó, announced last week. He said the two countries would "continue and expand" the training of Iranian nuclear experts as well as establish research and scientific cooperation in the use of nuclear energy.

Hungary has so far failed to explain how the Paks nuclear power plant expansion project does not conflict with state aid rules, the European Commission said yesterday. In response, the Hungarian government said the EC's investigation of the matter contains "a number of inaccuracies and misunderstandings" as well as "unfounded and misleading assertions".

The Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority has authorised the introduction of a 15-month fuel replacement interval at units 1-4 of the Paks nuclear power plant, the plant's owner MVM NPP Ltd announced on 8 December. The move licenses the switch to a new type of fuel assembly with an average enrichment of 4.7%.

Rosatom has the strategic aim of attracting European suppliers of nuclear power equipment and services to its foreign and domestic projects, its first deputy director general, Kirill Komarov, said today at a conference in Budapest. Following him at the podium, a Hungarian government official reassured potential suppliers that the Russia-backed Paks nuclear power plant expansion project meets European Commission rules.

The European Commission announced today that it has opened an in-depth state aid investigation into Hungary's plans to provide financing for the construction of two new nuclear power reactors in Paks. The Commission has also launched an infringement procedure against Hungary as regards the Paks II project, because it "has concerns regarding the compatibility of the project" with EU public procurement rules.