Austria has lodged a complaint with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) over the EU’s approval of a plan to expand a Hungarian nuclear power plant.
The CJEU judged that the expansion of a Hungarian nuclear power plant outside Budapest, funded with a €10bn Russian loan, met the necessary state aid rules. But neighbouring Austria, which has taken a strongly anti-nuclear stance, has objected to the ruling.
The Paks nuclear station contributes around 40% of Hungary’s electricity needs, and is the country’s only nuclear plant. It was built in the 1980s using Soviet-era technology, and the expansion plan would see two additional reactors constructed at the site by 2025, which would double the plant’s capacity to 4,000 megawatts.
Hungary made a number of concessions and adopted new measures recommended by the commission to assure that the plan would not damage competition in the country, and could therefore be approved under EU state aid rules.
Why did Austria object to the plan?
Austria has taken a stance against nuclear power since the 1970s, viewing it as an unstable technology which does not provide a viable solution against global warming.
When the country announced its intention to sue the European Commission over the planned construction, a spokesperson for Sustainability Minister Elisabeth Koestinger said: “EU assistance is only permissible when it is built on common interest. For us, nuclear energy is neither a sustainable form of energy supply, nor is it an answer to climate change.”
Now that the complaint has been formally submitted, Koestinger herself emphasised that, for Austria, there is no negotiating on the value of nuclear energy: “For our nature, our environment and our unique landscape, we must take up this David and Goliath struggle. Nuclear energy must have no place in Europe. We will not budge one centimetre from this position.”
Austria also launched a legal action against the European Commission in 2015 after it approved the construction of a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, UK. In that case, the CJEU found in favour of the European Commission, and plans for the facility have moved forward.
