France is ready to replace Rosatom in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Hungary – FT
If Hungary gets off the “nuclear needle” of the Kremlin, it will be easier to impose sanctions against Rosatom.
France and Hungary have begun negotiations on cooperation in nuclear energy, which may eventually lead to the termination of the agreement with Russia on the expansion of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant. This is reported by the Financial Times.
The publication notes that Hungary may weaken its pro-Moscow course if negotiations with France are successful. Then it will be easier for the EU to sanction Russian nuclear exports because of the war in Ukraine, which Budapest is resisting.
Now Hungary has begun re-evaluation of the project for the construction of new units for its Paks nuclear power plant with the participation of Rosatom. Already, the French company Framatome and the German Siemens are subcontractors for the expansion of the Hungarian nuclear power plant.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the Paks project during a meeting last week. However, Hungary is not yet ready to completely abandon the project or replace the main Russian reactor with another one.
But as FT sources said, the longer the war in Ukraine goes on and the sanctions against the Russian Federation are in place, the more likely Hungary will refuse to cooperate with Russia.
Sanctions against Rosatom
Ukraine calls on Western partners to impose sanctions on the Russian company Rosatom, which is one of the largest suppliers of foreign currency to the Russian economy.
One of Ukraine’s main claims against Rosatom is its participation in the Kremlin’s attempts to take control of the seized Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. There is also evidence that Rosatom is helping other Russian companies circumvent the sanctions imposed against them.
However, the West cannot yet impose sanctions against Rosatom. The main opponent of this is Hungary, for which the company is building two more nuclear reactors to the already existing nuclear power plant.