Alexander PISHTA
The official construction of the Russian Paks II nuclear power plant has begun in Hungary with the start of pouring concrete for the foundation.
The two-reactor project is financed by the Russian state with billions of euros in loans to Hungary, which have been shown to violate European Union law. The nuclear power plant technology is being supplied by the Russian state nuclear corporation “Rosatom“ and features a VVER 1200 reactor. The controversial project, located on the Danube River and 100 kilometers south of Budapest, was conceived nearly two decades ago, during which time “Greenpeace“ and civil society in Hungary challenged the plans as dangerous and uneconomical.
The start of construction was attended by Director General Alexei Likhachev together with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director General Grossi described the start of construction of Paks as a “great day for Russia“ and congratulated Rosatom for the nuclear cooperation “hand in hand with the IAEA“ and the responsibility as leaders in the field of energy to be carried out with safety and security at its core, and “nuclear energy to be an ambassador of peace“.
A statement by Greenpeace Hungary, published in Budapest, said that the project posed a serious political risk and it was morally irresponsible for the Hungarian government to start pouring the first concrete for the Russian Paks II nuclear power plant.
“This move is not just a technical stage, but an open political statement: Hungary is taking the side of war, opacity and the Russian state-owned nuclear industry. The government proudly advertises that the project is “sanctions-free“ and can therefore be accelerated. In reality, this means that Hungary has begun construction of a nuclear power plant with “Rosatom“, which independent international investigations have shown to be complicit in war crimes, nuclear blackmail and endangering the civilian population in Ukraine.
“Rosatom“ is not a neutral energy player, but a criminal nuclear enterprise of the Russian state. It is a documented fact that it is an active participant in the occupation of Ukraine, played a key role in the armed takeover of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and contributed to the militarization of an operating nuclear power plant: an unprecedented move in the history of nuclear energy.
According to reports by Ukrainian NGOs and international human rights defenders, “Rosatom“ has forcibly integrated the plant's workers into the occupation system, while documenting illegal detention, intimidation and torture. All of this seriously violates the principles of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and creates a nuclear risk that threatens the whole of Europe. By pouring concrete at Paks II, Budapest is not only laying the foundations for a power plant, but also creating a long-term political dependence on Russia, which has launched a full-scale war against Ukraine.
Rosatom has so far avoided severe EU sanctions because it is protected by key European economic interests. French and German majors, including Framatome and Siemens, continue to provide strategic technologies and expertise to Rosatom's projects, including the control and management systems that act as the “brains” of the nuclear power plants. This technological cooperation is not a neutral business, but an indirect contribution to Russia's geopolitical influence and military capabilities. And Hungary is not a victim in this system, but an active participant when it consistently blocks EU sanctions against Rosatom and accelerates investments in Paks II. Exempting Rosatom from sanctions is also not unprecedented for United States policy. The US administration last year lifted financial sanctions against Russian banks to allow financing for the Paks II project. This practice clearly shows: the “inviolability“ around Rosatom is not accidental, but is the result of conscious geopolitical considerations, in which the Hungarian government is also included by accelerating the Paks II project.
All this is happening in a nuclear project plagued by serious legal and democratic flaws. The European Court of Justice has annulled the Commission's decision to approve state aid for Paks II, because the contract, awarded to a Russian company without a competitive tender, was not examined and in breach of EU law. The Hungarian government has also received a rare formal warning based on the Aarhus Convention, because the government has prevented the public from examining the analyses underlying Paks II for years and made meaningful social participation impossible. A multi-trillion-euro Russian nuclear project with implications for decades is being decided behind closed doors.
According to Greenpeace, the start of concrete pouring is not Hungary's future, but a fundamentally flawed decision: Paks II is based on expensive, outdated and risky technology that diverts resources from energy efficiency and renewable energy development, while increasing the country's political and economic vulnerability to Russia. This is not energy security, but dependency. This is not climate protection, but risk. This is not progress, but a solution stuck in the past. Greenpeace Hungary calls on the government to immediately stop the Paks II project, make all preliminary calculations and contracts public, and start a real social debate about Hungary's energy future before more concrete, money, and political credibility are poured into a flawed project.
Source: www.greenpeace.org