Hungary has issued a permit that would allow the construction of two new nuclear reactors by the Russian state-owned company Rosatom.
The permit paves the way to expand the four-reactor nuclear plant in the southern city of Paks to six reactors. The project is expected to cost about $12.4 billion and will more than double the plant's capacity.
"This is a big step, an important milestone," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook on August 26 after the national regulator published the permit. "We can now move from planning stage to construction. You'll see that at the Paks site in the coming weeks."
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has maintained close ties between EU-member Hungary and Moscow despite the European Union's punitive sanctions against Russia following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February.
Russia will finance most of the project with a $10 billion loan, and Hungary will pay the remaining $2.4 billion.
The facility in Paks, Hungary's lone nuclear power plant, was built in the 1980s using Soviet technology. Szijjarto said the new reactors could go on line by 2030 and that they would protect Hungary from "wild swings in energy prices."
The European Union, which is experiencing record prices for electricity and natural gas, recently introduced a plan that encourages members of the bloc to wean themselves off Russian energy. Hungary, which relies heavily on Russian natural-gas imports, has been granted an exemption that allows it to maintain higher import levels.
Rosatom has not been targeted by Western punitive sanctions against Russia, despite calls by Ukrainian activists and NGOs to blacklist the nuclear power giant.
In May, EU member Finland canceled a planned nuclear power plant project that would have used Russian technology due to the invasion of Ukraine.
In March, the Czech energy company CEZ launched a tender for a new nuclear plant in the Czech Republic in which Rosatom and China General Nuclear were not allowed to participate.
In June, CEZ switched from using Russian nuclear fuel supplies for its Temelin nuclear plant in favor of French and U.S. companies.