During a joint press conference with Alexey Likhachev, the head of the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, Péter Szijjártó welcomed the start of the construction of new reactors in Paks. He pointed out that the expansion is currently the largest nuclear project on the continent with a construction permit.
US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman was quick to condemn PM Viktor Orbán’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on the social media platform X., suggesting the Hungarian prime minister was ‘pleading for business deals’. In response, Balázs Orbán pointed out that the US has in fact doubled its import of enriched uranium from Russia since the start of the war.
‘Hungary has submitted the draft contract modifications to the European Commission, and we received the green light from them yesterday,’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced.
The foreign minister emphasised right after winter, ‘in Europe, it is fashionable to strut about with great bravado these days,’ but the International Energy Agency recently issued an ‘ominous’ report indicating that the most severe difficulties are expected to come in the next heating season when supply security will be critical.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal recently stated that the country would like to join the EU in a two-year timetable. However, most member states think that this timeline for Kyiv’s bid is unrealistic.
The Paks nuclear power plant currently prevents the emission of 14.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, and with the expansion, this will increase by another 17 million tons. In addition, about four billion cubic metres less natural gas will have to be used per year.
The precarious situation created by the war could bring the renaissance of nuclear energy as it appears to be a proper answer to energy security issues while helping governments to meet green energy goals.
While the parties are making contradictory statements about a possible nuclear emergency, expert analyses suggest that the risks posed by nuclear weapons in the context of the Russian offensive should be taken seriously.
This article aims to provide a brief overview of the most important milestones of the two countries’ economic cooperation.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
