Though Europe is “proud to have gotten through the winter”, a recent report by the International Energy Agency indicates that energy supply security will be critical in the next heating season, Szijjártó said after meeting Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister in charge of energy matters, and Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s chief executive, according to a ministry statement.

Szijjártó said the uninterrupted supply of Russian gas to Hungary was crucial, welcoming the extension of the option for Hungary to increase, if need be, gas imports beyond the volume specified in the country’s long-term gas purchase agreements.

A second agreement extends Hungary’s option to defer payments of its gas over a 150 euro price threshold, irrespective of the current prices, he said. Szijjártó said some 80% of Hungary’s oil supply had been delivered via the Druzhba pipeline in 2022, adding that Hungary and Russia had agreed that the Russian supplier would continue delivering the oil to Hungary’s oil and gas company MOL via the Ukraine-Hungary border.

Szijjártó: Hungary, Russia Agree Changes to Paks Upgrade Contract

Hungary and Russia have agreed on changes to the construction and financing contract of the upgrade of the Paks nuclear power plant with a view to enabling the project’s continuation and completion, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Moscow.

The war in Ukraine and the responses to it have not made it any easier to make progress on the expansion of the Paks plant, Szijjártó said after talks with Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom’s chief executive, according to a ministry statement.

Though so far sanctions on nuclear energy have been prevented, “it is clear that throughout Europe, in many cases there are efforts to block successful nuclear cooperation between Hungary and Russia through political means and unlawful decisions”, the minister said.

Szijjártó said that regardless of the war and the sanctions, the Paks contract had to be modified because of the technical and technological changes seen in the nine years since it was signed.

“The sanctions have only added to this, so by modifying the contract Russia and Hungary had to find the legal framework that ensured that the nuclear plant can be built,” he said.

Hungary and Russia have also agreed on how the construction and financing contract would be changed, he added. Once those modifications are finalised, they will be submitted to the European Commission for approval, Szijjártó said.

“We hope the European Commission doesn’t wish to put Hungary’s long-term energy supply at risk,” he said, adding that the plant’s new blocks were critical to guaranteeing sustainable and affordable energy supply in the coming period.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó welcomed the completion of the diaphragm wall monitoring tests, adding that they have been submitted to the National Atomic Energy Authority and the power plant’s leadership for review.