Austria wins lawsuit against Hungarian power plant expansion

The Austrian government had long raised objections to the expansion of the Hungarian nuclear power plant in Paks.

Vienna argued that state aid and the direct contract awarded to the Russian company Nizhny Novgorod Engineering violated EU law.

On Thursday, the European Court of Justice ruled in Austria's favor, deciding that the EU Commission should have examined Budapest's actions more carefully.

The central question is whether the awarding of the billion-euro contract without a public tender violated fundamental principles of competition and transparency.

The ruling does not mean that the expansion of the Paks power plant will automatically be halted. However, the EU Commission must reopen the case and review it.

The dispute also highlights the growing tensions between Vienna and Budapest on the issue of nuclear energy.

Austria is one of the countries that strictly rejects nuclear power, while Hungary considers it a strategically important part of its energy policy and cooperation with Russia.

(reuters, lud)