RT.com
28 Jan 2023, 01:30 GMT+10
Berlin's behavior is "unacceptable," Peter Szijjarto said
Green Party ministers in Germany's coalition government are blocking work to modernize Hungary's Paks nuclear power plant, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. Upgrades at the plant, which account for half of the country's electricity production, are being carried out by Russian nuclear agency Rosatom and a number of European firms.
France's Framatome and Germany's Siemens Energy were contracted to supply control systems for new reactors at the facility in central Hungary, but haven't done so yet due to opposition from Berlin, Szijjarto said during a press conference on Friday.
"The French export authority has granted Framatome permission to supply the control systems, but two Green ministers in the German government - the economy and foreign minister (Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck) - are blocking the issue of similar permits to Siemens Energy for the time being. This is unacceptable," he said.
Szijjarto stressed that sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine do not currently restrict EU cooperation with Moscow in the area of civil use of atomic energy. According to the minister, Baerbock and Habeck are throwing roadblocks in front of the Paks 2 project purely out of "political or ideological reasons" with "no legal basis."
He also pointed out that Hungary does not possess rich oil and gas deposits, which makes the nuclear power plant essential for its energy security.
"We have been using nuclear energy for four decades. We signed a contract with Rosatom to build new reactors nine years ago, and the Hungarian people have already paid the price for the war next door," Szijjarto said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.
Also on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that Budapest "will not allow the [EU's] plan to include nuclear energy in the sanctions to be implemented." Any attempts by Brussels to impose restrictions on cooperation with Russia in the area "must obviously be vetoed," Orban insisted.
Earlier this week, Szijjarto said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba had called upon the EU to include the Russian nuclear sector in its next sanctions package. The Hungarian foreign minister said that, while some of the bloc's members support the idea, it would never be accepted by Budapest.
Get a daily dose of Europe Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Europe Sun.
More InformationTAIPEI, Taiwan: In an effort to ease tensions between Taiwan and China, former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou will visit Beijing ...
NIAMEY, Niger: Four weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Niger, an American aid worker and a French ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: While chairing a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels this week, European Union (EU) foreign ...
BANGUI, Central African Republic: Authorities from the Central African Republic have said that nine Chinese nationals were killed and two ...
MENINDEE, Australia: After recent floods and hot weather, millions of dead fish have washed up in southeastern Australia, which authorities ...
BOISE, Idaho: Under a bill passed by the Idaho Legislature thios with a veto-proof majority, the state will allow firing ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Commerce Department has proposed new laws aimed at preventing China and other countries deemed of concern ...
NEW YORK, New York - As concerns over the banking sector eased, U.S. stocks moved moderately higher on Thursday, but ...
MEXICO CITY, Mexico: Amid Tesla's plan to open a $5 billion Gigafactory in the country, Mexico will soon become an ...
PARIS, France: Amidst the mass deaths of dolphins and porpoises in recent years, France's highest administrative body has ordered the ...
MANILA, Philippines: An underwater robot from Japan has located a leaking fuel tanker, MT Princess Empress, which sank off the ...
NEW YORK, New York - A hike in official U.S. interest rates of 0.25 percent, and a jump in inflation ...