Hungary signs agreement with Belarus to help with nuclear construction

Hungary today signed an agreement with Belarus to help build additional nuclear units in this Central European country. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó made the announcement in a press statement during a visit to Minsk, Reuters reported.

The project, known as Paks 2 and overseen by Russia’s Rosatom, involves expanding the existing Paks nuclear power plant in central Hungary and building two nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 2.4 gigawatts.

„The agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy signed today is very important. It allows us to draw on the experience Belarus has gained in building reactors using similar technology,“ Szijjártó said, without providing further details about the agreement.

As Reuters notes, the project, valued at 12.5 billion euros (309 billion Kč), is significantly behind schedule, even though nuclear energy is not covered by European Union sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. Hungary continues to import most of its energy from Russia, and its relatively close cooperation with the country is repeatedly criticised in the EU.

Szijjártó also commented today on proposals by some European countries to send troops to Ukraine to help train Ukrainians. „I find statements claiming that EU and NATO countries are sending troops to Ukraine disgusting,“ said the foreign minister of a country that, according to Reuters, remains closer to Russia than any other EU member despite the war.