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Fidesz managed to sink to a new low on election day: the party leader orchestrating those illegal get-out-of-the-vote measures called police upon reporters trying to interview him, citing "harassment". For the international angle, enter European Commissioner Navracsics, who previously tried to fulfil Juncker's expectations with some unspecific criticism of the Orbán government. Now Navracsics undid that by rushing to defend the GOTV tsar, saying "there is nothing wrong with calling police for harassment". This is an apparent reaction to some in Fidesz who made him the culprit for not participating in the campaign.
Meanwhile, there was a long report claiming that, in spite of the recent Putin visit, Orbán is preparing to end his pro-Russia/eastward foreign policy in March. The sources claim that the main motivation wasn't the cold shoulder of the Americans or the meagre financial gains from the sought-for eastern creditors, but the isolation from Central European allies: both Romania and Poland made their displeasure over Orbán's line on Ukraine public, Poland weakened the Visegrád 4 with its medium-power and France-Poland-Germany-trio ambitions, and the Czech Republic and Slowakia joined up with Austria in the new Slavkov Triangle (see an assessment from Poland). (Note though that the article was based on interviews with several Atlanticists recently fired from the foreign ministry, and I for example struggle to believe that Orbán failed to foresee Polish displeasure with his line on Ukraine.)
The biggest result of Orbán's pro-Russia line was an agreement over a 12 billion credit from Russia for the construction of a new nuclear reactor by Rosatom. However, FT reported that both Euratom and the Commission's competition authority might deny approval for the deal. Meanwhile, the former environment minister (who was the last of Orbán's one-time comrades of the first hour to make way for a new crop of Orbán-loyalist yes-man yuppies, for opposing the nuclear deal) pointed out that modifications to fulfil upcoming EU safety requirements will boost the already massively over-priced 12 billion price tag further. Like the ex-minister, I think the plant will never be built. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
OK, after some googling it seems it's "not more than 12.5 billion" or "between 10 and 12 billion" for two reactors with a 1200 MW output each. Seems more reasonable, but it still shows that nuclear power has very considerable capital costs.
Of course, that also means that getting really cheap credit radically improves the competitiveness of nuclear power. I didn't find out what the interest is on the loan (it's supposed to be "highly preferential"), but the terms are pretty sweet: repayment begins when the plant is commissioned, and will last for 21 years. According to another source, it's a 30-year loan.
Read more here and here.
By the way, good news Orban is moving away from Putin, and good that he got this pretty sweet deal despite that. If the plant is ever built, that is. Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
It rises from 3.95% to 4.95% during the payment period. Is that supposed to be highly preferential?
OK, after some googling it seems it's "not more than 12.5 billion" or "between 10 and 12 billion" for two reactors with a 1200 MW output each.
To be correct myself, 12.5 billion is the cost of the two-block plant (without the extra safety retrofits), and 10 billion is the size of the credit, and it comes with the additional condition that the remaining 20% be paid up-front, for every sub-contract. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
EU blocks Hungary-Russia nuclear deal The EU has blocked Hungary's 12bn nuclear deal with Russia, a decision that is likely to inflame tensions between the Kremlin and Brussels.
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