> The European Court of Justice has struck down an EU approval for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Hungary, arguing that it was unclear whether Viktor Orbán’s government followed EU procurement rules when awarding Rosatom the contract without a public tender.
> The legal setback comes at a sensitive time for the Hungarian prime minister, who has come under increasing pressure to end his country’s energy dependence on Russia, which he has sought to maintain despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
> Judges at the Luxembourg-based court on Thursday ruled that the European Commission should have taken into consideration EU public procurement rules when it approved Budapest’s plans to subsidise the construction of two new nuclear reactors built by Rosatom.
> “The Commission should have ascertained whether that direct award, made without a public tender procedure, complies with EU public procurement rules,” the court said. “The Commission took the view [that it did, but] that decision is not sufficiently reasoned.”
> Budapest had planned to build a 2-gigawatt nuclear plant for which it had formed a partnership with Russian state-owned Rosatom in 2014, in a much-delayed process it now aims to complete by the early 2030s. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant has had four Russian-built reactors since the 1980s.
> Other countries in the former eastern bloc have turned to western technology to upgrade their Soviet-era nuclear power infrastructure. But Hungary has insisted on the Russian partner, although it has explored alternatives as well.
> Rosatom leads the project and has involved several big international companies — including French and German groups — as subcontractors, but the heart of the plant will be two reactors, which are being produced by Nizhny Novgorod Engineering.
> Hungary’s government said it would continue the project as planned, but was ready to co-operate with the commission to demonstrate it had met public procurement and state aid requirements.
> “The court did not say the project failed to meet public procurement rules, only that its reasoning was not satisfactory,” EU affairs minister János Bóka told a news conference on Thursday. “Another procedure has established this [years ago], but it was not brought in to justify the current decision.”
> “There is no legal reason not to continue the Paks investment at its current pace,” he added.
> The commission said it would “carefully study the judgment and reflect on next steps”.
Horixgirly on
This seems like it could have abig impact on EU-Russia relations.
EnvironmentalTest961 on
„Hungary said it would continue the project as planned“
On a side note, we can only hope they will not be skipping on any safety measures for money „saving“.
PrintOk8045 on
Right decision. Now, what will Orban and his boyfriend Putin do?
TheBigArf on
So far they’ve only managed to build a fucking ditch that collapsed in on itself, so it’s not like there’s gonna be anything worthy of note there for the forseeable future.
The entire thing is basically a scheme.
MammothHusk on
paywall
phobug on
Good! Orban go r/BuyFromEU !
Socmel_ on
Or we could make a deal with Orban. We give you the money for the nuclear plant if you agree to make Hungary leave the EU
aaarry on
But I thought RBMK reactors don’t explode?
JimTheSaint on
That is good news.
Character-Method-711 on
Whadda shocker, „EU rejects plan for placing massive Russian-built nuclear device on EU territory“
dat_9600gt_user on
What part of „we don’t trade with the enemy“ do you not comprehend, Orban?
StrangerConscious637 on
Well done Austrian friends… well done. (We brought it to court)
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> The European Court of Justice has struck down an EU approval for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Hungary, arguing that it was unclear whether Viktor Orbán’s government followed EU procurement rules when awarding Rosatom the contract without a public tender.
> The legal setback comes at a sensitive time for the Hungarian prime minister, who has come under increasing pressure to end his country’s energy dependence on Russia, which he has sought to maintain despite Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
> Judges at the Luxembourg-based court on Thursday ruled that the European Commission should have taken into consideration EU public procurement rules when it approved Budapest’s plans to subsidise the construction of two new nuclear reactors built by Rosatom.
> “The Commission should have ascertained whether that direct award, made without a public tender procedure, complies with EU public procurement rules,” the court said. “The Commission took the view [that it did, but] that decision is not sufficiently reasoned.”
> Budapest had planned to build a 2-gigawatt nuclear plant for which it had formed a partnership with Russian state-owned Rosatom in 2014, in a much-delayed process it now aims to complete by the early 2030s. The Paks Nuclear Power Plant has had four Russian-built reactors since the 1980s.
> Other countries in the former eastern bloc have turned to western technology to upgrade their Soviet-era nuclear power infrastructure. But Hungary has insisted on the Russian partner, although it has explored alternatives as well.
> Rosatom leads the project and has involved several big international companies — including French and German groups — as subcontractors, but the heart of the plant will be two reactors, which are being produced by Nizhny Novgorod Engineering.
> Hungary’s government said it would continue the project as planned, but was ready to co-operate with the commission to demonstrate it had met public procurement and state aid requirements.
> “The court did not say the project failed to meet public procurement rules, only that its reasoning was not satisfactory,” EU affairs minister János Bóka told a news conference on Thursday. “Another procedure has established this [years ago], but it was not brought in to justify the current decision.”
> “There is no legal reason not to continue the Paks investment at its current pace,” he added.
> The commission said it would “carefully study the judgment and reflect on next steps”.
This seems like it could have abig impact on EU-Russia relations.
„Hungary said it would continue the project as planned“
On a side note, we can only hope they will not be skipping on any safety measures for money „saving“.
Right decision. Now, what will Orban and his boyfriend Putin do?
So far they’ve only managed to build a fucking ditch that collapsed in on itself, so it’s not like there’s gonna be anything worthy of note there for the forseeable future.
The entire thing is basically a scheme.
paywall
Good! Orban go r/BuyFromEU !
Or we could make a deal with Orban. We give you the money for the nuclear plant if you agree to make Hungary leave the EU
But I thought RBMK reactors don’t explode?
That is good news.
Whadda shocker, „EU rejects plan for placing massive Russian-built nuclear device on EU territory“
What part of „we don’t trade with the enemy“ do you not comprehend, Orban?
Well done Austrian friends… well done. (We brought it to court)