# Hungary Studies Replacing Rosatom at Paks Nuclear Plant, With Decision Expected by 2027

*Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 6:06 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-21T18:06:27.482Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Europe
**Importance**: 7/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/21162.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

---

**Deck**: Hungary is assessing how to swap out Russia’s Rosatom as contractor for the Paks nuclear expansion, reviewing financial, technical and legal costs, with a decision expected by late 2026 or early 2027.

Hungary is weighing a change that would loosen one of Russia’s deepest remaining links to European energy infrastructure.

According to two sources cited by Reuters, Budapest is exploring the possibility of replacing Rosatom as the main contractor for the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant. The sources say Hungary is already looking for alternative contractors but did not name any potential successors.

Officials under Prime Minister Péter Magyar are examining the financial, technical and legal consequences of removing Rosatom from the project. The Paks expansion is meant to add new reactors to an existing Soviet‑built plant that already supplies a large share of Hungary’s electricity.

Switching contractors at this stage would mean revisiting reactor designs, supply chains and regulatory filings. That helps explain why the review is expected to take time, with a decision not anticipated until the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027.

For households and industry in Hungary, the outcome will influence long‑term power prices and reliability. Delays or complications in adding new nuclear capacity could lead to tighter electricity markets and greater reliance on imported gas.

For Russia, losing the Paks expansion would remove a high‑profile project that anchors decades of technical and commercial links inside the European Union. Rosatom’s role in building, fueling and servicing nuclear plants typically extends over the lifetime of the reactors.

The review also interacts with EU efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy after the invasion of Ukraine, since a non‑Russian prime contractor at Paks would ease some of Brussels’ concerns about strategic vulnerability.

Next steps to watch include any official Hungarian confirmation of the review, signs that specific Western or Asian vendors are being considered as replacements, and indications of Russian diplomatic pressure or legal positioning around the existing contract. Changes to financing arrangements or moves to seek EU backing tied to a non‑Russian partner would be strong signals that Budapest is preparing to move away from Rosatom.