Majority of Hungarians support Paks-2 nuke project with Russia

MOSCOW, Aug 28 (PRIME) -- The majority of Hungarians support construction of the fifth and sixth power units at the country’s only nuclear power plant Paks with Russian participation, project company MVM Paks II said in a statement late on August 25 quoting data of a national poll.

The poll showed that 54% of respondents support the Paks-2 project, 36% reject it, and 10% had no opinion, the company said.

The bulk of the respondents are sure that nuclear power ensures consistent and safe supplies of electricity, and over 60% of the respondents are sure that construction of the new nuclear power units will allow Hungary to reduce its power dependence on imports, the company said.

Russia and Hungary signed a contract to build two VVER-1200 nuclear power units in 2014, but in September 2015, the European Commission said the project contradicts its regulations. In January 2016, media reported that the authority was investigating the project’s state funding, public access to data on the project, and state procurement regulations.

In March, the project was officially approved by the European Commission. In April, it received a final ecological license and a license for the facility’s site from the Hungarian Nuclear Energy Agency.

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