The analyst assessed the consequences of the cancellation of the EU permit for the construction of reactors at Paks-2

The European Union (EU) will seek to fully convince the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, especially Hungary, to switch to fuel produced by Canadian and American companies for their nuclear power plants. Vladimir Demidov, an independent expert on the resources and energy market, told Izvestia on September 11.

This is how he commented on the cancellation by the EU of the European Commission (EC) permit for the construction of nuclear reactors at the Paks-2 NPP.

"Most likely, the EU will try to completely force the former Eastern Bloc, primarily Hungary, to convert its nuclear power plants to fuel from Canadian and American companies, thereby closing, in principle, the connection with any energy sector in the Russian Federation, because at the moment part of the maintenance and supply of fuel is carried out by Rosatom in Hungary. and Rosatom was supposed to build Paks-2," the expert said.

Demidov also expressed surprise at the ban on the construction of a new nuclear power plant, especially given the statements by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, about the importance of nuclear energy for Europe. He believes that the reason is that "the wrong people are building."

As for alternative energy sources, the analyst stressed that Hungary has no access to the sea and, consequently, cannot use other resources.

"Hungary can only rely on gas and oil supplies from Russia through other oil and gas pipelines that come from the Adriatic or Poland, that is, from the Baltic. However, at the moment there is not enough capacity. The construction of these facilities may take up to three to four years to replace them," he concluded.

The United States has unblocked the Russian nuclear power plant project in Hungary. Why is this important?

In August, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Corporation, noted that the Russian Federation expects to begin construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary in November this year. He said that the first concrete will be poured into the foundation this month, which will mean the actual start of construction of the NPP power unit.

Earlier, on June 29, Rosatom reported that the United States had decided to withdraw from financial sanctions a number of Russian banks and insurance companies involved in nuclear energy projects, including the construction of the Paks-2 nuclear power plant in Hungary. As explained in the company, this decision will speed up the implementation of the project, which is being implemented jointly with Hungarian partners.

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