Hungary still expects to start construction of its Paks II nuclear power plant though it has yet to receive confirmation from the European Commission that the project meets the bloc's procurement rules. Attila Aszódi, the government commissioner responsible for Paks II, told reporters in Budapest yesterday that a site licence is expected to be issued in 2016, with a construction permit to follow in 2017.

A bilateral cooperation agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy has been signed between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Hungary.

Industry leaders last week debated how to bridge the gap between the World Nuclear Association's vision of an extra 1000 GWe of new nuclear power capacity by 2050, and the practicalities of working within current political, regulatory and financial environments.

Hungary has received confirmation from the European Commission that its Paks II nuclear power plant project meets the objectives of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) Treaty, a government official told World Nuclear News on 11 September. Speaking at the side of the World Nuclear Association's Annual Symposium in London, Attila Aszódi said the formal confirmation had been received on 7 September.

Hungary and China have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in education and research and development in the nuclear power sector. Hungary's national development minister Miklós Seszták and the head of China's National Energy Administration Nur Bekri signed the agreement in Budapest on 26 May.

Euratom, the nuclear watchdog of the European Union, has approved a contract between Hungary and Russia on nuclear fuel supply for the Paks II expansion project. János Lázár, cabinet chief of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's chief of staff, said the European Commission had officially informed the Hungarian government the same day that the Euratom Supply Agency has signed the contract between the two countries.

Hungary must renegotiate the fuel supply portion of a deal for two Russian reactors at the Paks nuclear power plant after terms proved unacceptable to the Euratom Supply Agency.

Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary has joined the nuclear research program of the Electric Power Research Institute.

Hungary and Russia are "already in the implementation phase" of their project to build two new Russian-designed units at Paks, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant. The article was published on the Hungarian government's website today, two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin made an official visit to the country.

Russia and Hungary have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the training of nuclear energy personnel.

Areva and Hungarian engineering company Evopro have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize global cooperation in nuclear and renewable energy.

Russia and Hungary's nuclear regulators today signed an agreement to cooperate in nuclear energy and nuclear safety.