Hungary can start construction of new nuclear power units at Paks next year as planned, following European Commission approval of commitments it has made to limit distortions of competition. The Commission said today it had concluded that Hungary's financial support for the Paks II project involves state aid, but it could approve this support under EU state aid rules on the basis of these commitments.

China will complete construction of five nuclear power reactors and start construction of eight more in 2017, according to plans released by the country's National Energy Administration. Planning for a further eight reactors will also be progressed this year.

The UK could realise long-term strategic benefits from taking a leading role in the development of small modular reactors, delegates were told at a Nuclear Industry Association conference in London this week. The country could harness SMRs to help it meet its own energy needs, but could also compete in the global market for the technology, they said.

UK trade minister Liam Fox today reassured the country's international partners that it remains committed to its nuclear power program as it leaves the Euratom Treaty. The government announced last month the UK intends to leave the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in explanatory notes to a bill it published authorising Brexit.

Russia and Tajikistan yesterday signed an agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the Central Asian country. Tajikistan is mineral-rich and has some uranium deposits, but most of its electricity is hydroelectric, with a small part sourced from natural gas.

FirstEnergy Corporation is advocating for Ohio to pass legislation recognising the zero-emission benefits of nuclear power, while acknowledging that it does not expect to remain the long-term owner of the state's only operating nuclear power plants. The company has confirmed it will withdraw from the competitive electricity market.

NuGeneration has congratulated Copeland by-election winner Trudy Harrison following last night's result in Whitehaven, as the company moves forward with plans to build a new nuclear power plant at Moorside. NuGen, which is the UK joint venture between Japan's Toshiba Corp and France's Engie, said it would work closely with the newly-elected British member of parliament as it "continues to build a robust business case" for the project.

A group of 28 Vietnamese students have become the first international graduates of a course on nuclear technology at Russia's National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. The six-year course is part of a program supported by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The French Nuclear Society says the country needs to maintain its nuclear power generation capacity to raise the share of electricity from renewable sources without increasing the cost of electricity production. In a white paper it suggests ways in which this can be achieved.

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory cannot fulfil the role its name describes while it relies on commercial work for part of its funding. That was the consensus of three expert witnesses to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into priorities for nuclear research and technologies.

Foratom has welcomed the European Parliament's approval of European Commission proposals to reform the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS). The European nuclear trade body added, however, the carbon price needs to increase  significantly in order to boost investment in low-carbon energy sources.

Nuclear energy's share of Ukraine's electricity mix is "rapidly approaching" 60%, President Petro Poroshenko said at a meeting of the country's National Security and Defence Council yesterday, according to a statement on the presidential website. The president did not give a date by which the increase would be achieved.