The Hungarian Government will hold further talks with the European Commission on a number of issues regarding the capacity maintenance of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, Minister of State heading the Prime Minister’s Office János Lázár said on Thursday, stressing that Brussels fundamentally supports the project.

He said that a notification procedure regarding the matter was initiated on behalf of the Government on 10 December 2013 within the framework of which the Minister of State submitted the draft agreement to EU Commissioner for Energy Günther Oettinger.

He also noted that on 26 November 2013, the Hungarian Government had already informed the Commission about its intention to conclude a cooperation agreement with Russia.

On 14 January, the Commission granted its written consent to Hungary's signing the intergovernmental agreement concerning the capacity maintenance of the Paks power plant, he said.

In addition, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also personally informed President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso about the matter, assuring him that the Commission will be constantly briefed about the implementation of the agreement. According to his letter, the agreement was drafted in line with applicable EU rules and regulations, including a special reference to the obligations to which Hungary is bound by EU legislation.

In response to the Prime Minister’s letter, President Barroso said that having examined the situation, the European Commission raised no objections of principle to the draft agreement on the Paks plant. However, there are other aspects of EU law to be observed, such as public procurement rules and state aid, and these require further discussion.

(Prime Minister’s Office)