Germany likely to refrain from joining lawsuit against Hungarian nuclear plant

The German government will likely not join a lawsuit against the planned nuclear power plant Paks in Hungary, Thorsten Knuf writes for the Frankfurter Rundschau. Austria has filed a lawsuit that challenges the plant’s licensing by the European Commission, saying the project pushed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán violates funding guidelines. Germany could have joined the lawsuit, but an environment ministry (BMUB) spokesperson said it is unlikely that Austria’s case will be successful, adding that the next German government would ultimately have to decide on the matter. Members of the German parliament from the Green Party and the Left Party say the plant in Paks not only poses a security threat but could also lead to market distortions at the expense of renewables, Knuf writes. In a letter to the government, the members of parliament said studies had shown that the plant in Hungary could reduce the German wholesale power price by 70 cents per megawatt hour (MWh).

Find the article in German here.

See the CLEW dossier The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out for background.