British News Agency

The SVR accused the European Commission leadership of conducting a smear campaign in Europe against Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom and its participation in Hungary’s Paks 2 Nuclear Power Plant project.

In a statement issued by the SVR Press Bureau, it was alleged that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had instructed her team to ensure that Peter Magyar’s government ended cooperation with Russia in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The statement claimed that Politico Europe was being used in the campaign and also criticized journalist Ben Makuch. The SVR alleged that European Union officials had acknowledged that European suppliers were unable to compete fairly with Rosatom in the nuclear energy market.

The Russian intelligence service claimed that the aim was to remove Rosatom from the Hungarian project and replace it with a Western company. The statement also criticized von der Leyen over a past COVID-19 vaccine supply contract with U.S.-based Pfizer.

The SVR argued that the European Union leadership was disregarding the views and interests of the Hungarian people and claimed that Hungary’s leadership would face a difficult choice between continuing energy cooperation with Russia and yielding to what it described as pressure from the European Union.

The statement did not include responses from the European Commission or any of the other parties named regarding the allegations.