cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/42134172
Hungary’s plans for two new Russian-built nuclear reactors hit a wall Thursday, after Europe’s highest court sided with Austria and struck down Brussels’ green light for the Paks II subsidies, ruling that the way the project was awarded was too big to sweep under the rug.
The European Court of Justice judges said Brussels went wrong by brushing aside how Hungary handed out the construction deal: Since the money and the construction of the reactors are part of the same package, they cannot be treated as separate issues. In this case, the decision to hand the work straight to a Russian company without bidding had to be treated as an integral part of the subsidy.
The story goes back to 2014, when Hungary cut a deal with Russia to expand its lone nuclear plant, which supplies about half the country’s electricity. Moscow promised a 10-billion-euro ($11.7 billion) loan to bankroll most of the work, while Budapest chipped in 2.5 billion euros. Instead of holding an open tender, Hungary handed the construction to a Russian firm, JSC NIAEP.
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