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A call upon the government to release to the public the letter of the Euratom Supply Agency

Benedek Jávor, Member of the European Parliament, calls upon the Hungarian government to forthwith release to the public the letter of the Euratom Supply Agency. In his opinion Hungarian citizens have a right to know the contents of the Paks agreements just as much as the European institutions.

According to information from the Commission the Euratom Supply Agency has sent its written opinion on the transportation agreement in connection with the fuel elements of the new Paks power plant and which was signed between the Hungarian government and the Russian partner on December 8th, 2014. According to these news, in its opinion the Agency gave voice to some serious criticism. To our knowledge, if we consider the original agreement, the transportation of the fuel elements to Paks would be carried out by the Russian consortium responsible for the construction, although there were news about the possibility of the American Westinghouse’s involvement in the transportation procedure. What we know for certain is that the government has classified all the contracts; therefore, the details of the transportation agreement remain unknown.

On the basis of the Euratom directive, of which Hungary is also a member since its accession to the European Union, the government is not allowed to sign such contracts without the countersignature of the Euratom Supply Agency. This is because the duty of supervising nuclear energy security and supply as well as supervising the adaptation of the EURATOM directive belongs to the Euratom Supply Agency, and as such, it must approve every transportation contract signed with a third party in order for the contract to be valid. This approval is what can now become questionable. As a result, the possible role of Westinghouse in the transportation deals might also be seen in a new light.

March 5th, 2015
Brussels-Budapest