Ukraine (bbabo.net), - The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the claim of Austria, in which the Austrian state asked the EU General Court to overturn the decision of the European Commission (EC) to approve the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary.
Austria sued the EC in 2018 after the EU Council approved in 2017 Hungary's plan to build two new reactors at Paks with the help of Rosatom. In 2015, an EU body launched an investigation to find out whether funding for Hungary's expansion of a nuclear power plant was in line with European Union rules. During the investigation, Brussels concluded that the funding for the construction of two new nuclear reactors included government assistance. And at the beginning of March 2017, he approved assistance in accordance with the EU state aid rules, since he considered that its volume was proportional to the goals pursued and did not exceed what was necessary to achieve them.
Austria challenged this claim in the Court of Justice of the EU, noting that nuclear power is not a sustainable source of energy and that it does not provide the right answer to climate change.
The Vienna authorities argued, among other things, that the EC's decision violated public procurement rules, compliance with which is inextricably linked to the aim of the aid, it led to a disproportionate change in competition in the market, and that it was not in the public interest to authorize the aid.
Rejecting the Austrian position, the EU Court of Justice drew attention to the fact that EU member states are free to determine the composition of their energy balance, and the EC cannot require public funding to be allocated to alternative energy sources.
Austria can appeal against the decision of the EU Court of Justice within two months and ten days from the date of notification.
Vienna also filed a complaint with the EU Court of Justice in July that the European Parliament, at the proposal of the European Commission, classified nuclear and natural gas energy as a "green and sustainable" transitional energy source.
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