EU agrees to Russia’s fuel supply for Hungarian Paks NPP

Hungary has reached an agreement with EU on fuel supply for Paks nuclear power plans (NPP) by Russian state company Rosatom, Hungarian head of prime minister’s office Janos Lazar said on Wednesday.
"All hurdles in connection with fuel supply have been removed. It is necessary for the expansion of Paks NPP," MTI agency quoted Lazar as saying after talks with EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action Miguel Arias Canete.
"European Commission’s remarks were taken into account by Hungary, and we are solving the problem with fuel supply with the aim of preserving Paks NPP’s capacity in accordance with the Finnish model," Lazar said. He stressed that Hungary grants Russia an opportunity to supply fuel for new power units in the next 10 years. "This decision is absolutely acceptable for the Russian side as well," the official said.
Lazar said he agreed with Canete that the European Commission "will bring the matter with fuel to a close in the nearest future." An agreement with EU has great significance for Hungary, he noted. Last year, Brussels accepted Russian-Hungarian deal on expanding Paks NPP on one condition - it should be in line with European law in the sphere of state support and competition.
"We managed to find such a decision when the Hungarian side wins while the European law is being observed," Lazar said. He added that the Hungarian government will file a lawsuit against The Financial Times for publishing a report on alleged EU’s blocking of Paks expansion.
"If EU makes such a decision [approving the deal on Paks expansion], it will be a clear rebuttal of newspaper’s statements on blocking of Paks NPP expansion," he concluded.
Russia and Hungary signed documents in January 2014 on building new power units on the site of Hungary’s sole Paks NPP that had been constructed by Soviet specialists.
Immediately after the deal was signed, attempts were made in Europe to block it, including an active campaign in the leading European media that accused Budapest of increasing its energy dependence on Russia.
However, Hungarian government spokesman for the Paks NPP project Attila Aszodi told TASS news agency that the NPP contract between Russia and Hungary had been approved by the European Commission and had not encountered any critical remarks since 2013.