Responding to a question about the Austrian government’s concern about a Russian-type nuclear plant being built near that country, the commissioner said that such statements are “meant for Austrian domestic politics” and that no such concerns had been expressed in official meetings about the upgrade.

He said there was no merit to claims that the environmental impact assessment did not take into account the possibility of the plant emitting radioactive material into Austria’s territory.

Asked why Hungary is diverting from the EU’s goal of reducing its dependence on Russian energy, Aszódi noted that Austrian and German companies are also collaborating with Russia and that Russia’s state-owned atomic energy company Rosatom has a 34% share in the new nuclear plant to be built in Finland.

Aszódi said Hungary is in need of nuclear power to produce electricity because unlike Austria, it does not have access to a sufficient amount of hydropower, and noted that Hungary still has to import a large portion of its electricity.

Aszódi said the plant will operate in line with market practices, without any illegal state aid. Russia will include sub-contractors in construction and companies like Alstom, Siemens and Rolls-Royce have expressed interest in the upcoming tenders, he said.

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