EC investigating possibility of state aid for Hungary's Paks 2 nuclear power project

BRUSSELS. Feb 5 (Interfax) - An investigation is being conducted in connection with the European Court of Justice's annulment of the European Commission's approval of state support for Hungary's Paks 2 nuclear power plant project, EC spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said on Wednesday.

Last year the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) annulled the commission's initial decision of 2017 to approve Hungarian government aid for the construction of the Paks 2 nuclear power plant and, of course, following this legal annulment the commission has now undertaken a public official investigation of this matter, Cardoso said at a briefing in Brussels.

This means that the EC now has two options, to either approve measures of government aid for Paks 2 on certain conditions or without, or to make a negative decision, and then this measure cannot be used, he said, responding to a question about the announced start of construction on Paks 2 in Hungary and the legality of these actions in light of the court ruling.

Cardoso added that, since the investigation is ongoing, he cannot comment on the situation in detail or predict future steps.

The CJEU ruled in September 2025 to annul approval for state financing for the Paks 2 project. The EC said at the time that this did not mean that the construction itself was prohibited.

This refers to government aid, not the construction project as such, EC spokesperson Paula Pinho said.

The bulk of the financing for the project, which is being carried out by Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, is supposed to come from a Russian loan of up to 10 billion euros, court materials showed. Another 2.5 billion euros was expected to come from the Hungarian government.