Construction of two Russia-supplied reactors will now ‘proceed at faster pace’
The US government has lifted sanctions that had held up Hungary’s planned expansion of its Paks nuclear power station, foreign minister Peter Szijjártó said on 29 June.
Donald Trump’s administration withdrew the penalties imposed during Joe Biden’s presidency, which means construction at the Paks II project site on the Danube south of Budapest can now accelerate, Szijjártó said in a statement.
“These politically motivated measures were imposed by the Biden admin just before Donald Trump took office,” Szijjártó said on social media. “Grateful to the Trump admin, as this project will guarantee our future energy supply.”
Szijjártó added: “Construction of the major pieces of equipment for the Paks nuclear plant is proceeding in Russia and France. On site in Paks, construction can now proceed at a faster pace.”
Neither Hungary or the US gave any details of the sanctions, but they were reported to be related to an executive order – now lifted – against “individuals and entities furthering specified harmful foreign activities of the Russian Federation”.
The Paks project, led by Hungary’s Russian partner, the state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has seen a number of legal challenges and significant delays in recent years.
Prime minister Viktor Orban has also frequently clashed with European Union peers over his close ties with Russia, which supplies the bulk of Hungary’s energy imports.
In December, Szijjártó said the Hungarian nuclear regulator had approved a preliminary safety report for the Paks nuclear power plant expansion, paving the way for the project’s first concrete pouring milestone.
Szijjártó said first concrete for the two-unit Paks II nuclear station is expected at the beginning of 2025.
Rosatom is supplying two Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units for Paks II, at the existing Paks nuclear site, near the town of Paks in central Hungary.
There are already four smaller earlier-generation Russia supplied VVER units at the site, which in 2023 supplied 48.8% of the country’s electricity production, according to International Atomic Energy Agency data.
