The Paks power plant plays a crucial role in keeping the Hungarian economy competitive, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in his regular public radio interview on Friday morning.

It is in Hungary’s interests for 40-45 percent of the country's electricity supply to be generated by Paks in the long run, the Prime Minister stressed. The present agreement will have no impact on the country’s independence, he said.

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The power plant serves as an economic foundation for further cuts is public utility prices. The Government’s objective is to provide cheap electricity for households as well as companies and, according to plans, to have the largest possible ratio of that electricity generated in Hungary.

He confirmed recent reports that household electricity, gas and district heating prices would be reduced again.

Citing the Government's 2011 energy strategy, the Prime Minister said that nuclear energy would also be part of a strategy to increase the use of electricity in road transport. Negotiations on the issue are under way with major car manufacturers, he added.

DownloadThe Prime Minister said the Russian-Hungarian deal, which will soon be submitted to Parliament for approval, is not linked to any other issues, such as gas imports.

Regarding supposed parallels between IMF loans and the Russian inter-governmental loan, he insisted that the IMF had asked for a cut in pensions in exchange for the loan, and the organisation would not have allowed Hungary to impose taxes on banks and multinational companies. Such issues were not raised at all during the talks with Russia, he said.

The Prime Minister said that Russian-Hungarian relations are good at present. He noted that a year ago he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin on developing bilateral economic relations on the basis of mutual benefits, and the Russians had kept their promises.

(Prime Minister's Office)