EU Court Overturns Approval of Hungarian State Aid for Nuclear Plant
The EU's top court ruled that the European Commission should not have approved Hungarian state aid for expanding the Paks atomic plant by a Russian company, as it failed to check if the contract met EU rules. Austria's appeal highlighted the need for compliance with procurement regulations.
The European Union's highest court has ruled against the European Commission's approval of Hungarian state aid for the expansion of its Paks nuclear plant, a project spearheaded by a Russian firm. The court pointed out that the Commission had not thoroughly assessed whether the contract adhered to EU standards.
The construction agreement was awarded directly to Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Engineering as part of a bilateral nuclear energy agreement between Hungary and Russia. Supported by a Russian state loan, the project was greenlit by the European Commission in 2017.
Despite a challenge from neighboring Austria, which had earlier lost a case in a lower court, Austria's appeal was successful at the EU's Court of Justice. The appeal emphasized the necessity of verifying the contract's compliance with EU procurement laws.
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