Hungary asks parliament to make US nuclear deal legally binding

Bill sent to parliament

Hungary's government has asked parliament to make legally binding a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States that the previous government of Viktor Orban signed in February, Reuters reported. The bill was submitted the day before Foreign Minister Anita Orban met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Thursday.

Parliament is likely to approve the bill: Prime Minister Peter Magyar's government holds a two-thirds majority there, Reuters reported.

According to the bill, the agreement signed during US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's 16 February visit to Hungary would become legally binding. It covers civilian nuclear energy including small modular reactors, and it encourages Hungary to select US nuclear technology and companies as its main suppliers for new projects.

Why Hungary is keeping the deal

The move shows that under Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who ousted Orban in an election earlier this year, Hungary will stick to the nuclear deal even though Washington had openly backed his predecessor before the April vote, Reuters reported.

Anita Orban signs MOUs in Washington

Foreign Minister Anita Orban, who is not related to the former prime minister, met Rubio and signed memorandums of understanding on energy and law enforcement cooperation in Washington. "The MOUs are key milestones, but they are part of the process. We are driven to take actions, to take action plans, and to have agreements," she said after the signing ceremony and before starting her meeting with Rubio.

The Paks decision

Hungary is considering replacing Russia's Rosatom as the main contractor in the expansion of its Russian-built Paks nuclear power plant and has started sounding out alternative suppliers as part of a review of the project. Magyar's government is expected to decide on the Paks expansion later this year or early in 2027.

Hungary has taken two earlier steps involving nuclear technology. Last year Hungary partnered with Poland's Synthos Green Energy, which holds the rights to GE Vernova Hitachi's technology in Central Europe. In November 2025 it signed an agreement to buy American nuclear fuel and US technology to store spent fuel at a Russian-built plant.

What happens next

Parliament's approval, more than eight months after the February signing, would make the text legally binding. It would not settle the Paks contractor question, which the government has said it will decide later this year or in early 2027.