• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Germany Blocks Siemens from Control Role in Hungary's Nuclear Power Plant, French Step In

Germany Blocks Siemens from Control Role in Hungary's Nuclear Power Plant, French Step In

• 8 Jun 2023 7:55 AM
• Hungary Matters

France’s Framatome is set to take over the role of Germany’s Siemens Energy in the supply of the operational control system for the two new blocks of Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Paris.

The expansion of nuclear energy production is the best way to guarantee Hungary’s long-term energy security and sustain the achievements of the scheme capping household energy prices, Szijjártó said after talks with the CEO of France’s EDF electric utility company, according to a ministry statement.

Szijjártó said the European Commission’s recent approval of the modifications to the contracts of the Paks plant’s upgrade could now accelerate the expansion, adding that the Hungarian government now expected a greater French presence in the project.

Hungary had intended for the control system to be supplied by a German-French consortium, but the German government is not allowing the German company to participate, the minister said. Therefore, their role will most likely be taken over by the French, he added.

The minister noted that US engineering giant GE, which has been contracted to manufacture and supply the turbines for the new blocks, has been acquired by a French company.

“And this means that French value added, French participation and French contributions to Hungary’s nuclear industry will increase significantly,” he said.

Szijjártó said this was in line with Hungary’s interests, arguing that Budapest and Paris were in agreement on the strategic importance of protecting nuclear energy.

“Certain European political players and Brussels bureaucrats are trying to push nuclear energy out of the European energy market,” the minister said. But, he added, France had organised a coalition of 12 European countries that firmly support the use of nuclear energy.

“We don’t accept negative discrimination against nuclear energy,” he said. “Nuclear energy is indeed a clean, cheap and safe way of producing electricity.”

Szijjártó on Wednesday morning also held talks with the director general of the European Space Agency as well as leaders of Thales Alenia Space and Servier.

Hungary is intensifying its cooperation with the ESA after having shortlisted the final four candidates to become the country’s next astronaut to participate in a mission on the International Space Station, he said, adding that the contract on the mission will be signed with US-based Axiom Space in September.

MTI Photo: Tamás Sóki

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Siemens Nuclear Power Plant

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

Hungary Will Not Block EU Accession Talks with Ukraine, Says Magyar

• 5 Jun 2026 8:27 AM

The Hungarian government will not block the start of European Union accession negotiations with Ukraine if Kyiv guarantees the rights of the Hungarian minority, Prime Minister Peter Magyar said in an interview published in the Thursday edition of French daily Le Monde, quoting remarks Magyar made to the newspaper during his visit to Paris the previous day.



Nuclear Power Plant Expansion to be Completed in Hungary" Despite all Difficulties"

• 7 Apr 2026 7:42 AM

Work is progressing at full speed, so the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant will be completed on schedule despite all difficulties, a ministry of foreign affairs and trade official said on the site.



Growing Number of Ukrainian Spies Exposed in Hungary, Claims Gov't

• 27 Mar 2026 8:17 AM

The number of Ukrainian spies exposed in Hungary is growing, the minister heading the Prime Minister's Office told a regular press conference on Thursday. "The first was Szabolcs Panyi, who has been spying on his own country in cooperation with a foreign state, and the IT experts working for the Tisza Party," Gergely Gulyas said.



'Very Vulnerable Motor Fuel Situation': Impact of Chokepoint Threat Could Soon Be Felt in Hungary

• 3 Mar 2026 11:49 AM

Hungary does not typically get deliveries via the Strait of Hormuz, but the market impact of the threat to the oil chokepoint could still be felt in the country, Szabolcs Szabo, the senior VP for value chain management at Hungarian oil and gas company MOL told public media.