Officials deny report that EU blocked nuclear fuel deal

‘Russian, Hungarian and EU officials on Friday denied a Financial Times report that claimed that the EU blocked a multibillion deal under which Hungary is to buy nuclear fuel rods from Russia for its Paks nuclear power plant.

Russian nuclear engineers are to build two new reactors with combined capacity of 1,200 megawatts at Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, which currently has four reactors. The deal signed last year involves a €10-billion loan that Moscow offered to Budapest on condition that the money would pay for the equipment.

The new reactors would have to be loaded with Russian-made fuel rods, which is a matter of safety for the new reactors. However EU’s nuclear fuel purchasing agency Euratom is opposing the exclusive deal. The Financial Times reported Thursday that the European Commission last week secretly backed Euroatom’s decision to block the deal.’

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