BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's only nuclear power plant will shut down for the first time in its history due to record-low water levels on the Danube River, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Friday, adding that the plant may not come back online for several weeks as the river is expected to continue receding.
The Paks nuclear plant, located around 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital Budapest, is operating at less than half its normal capacity, producing 965 megawatts of power rather than the usual 2,000.
The plant uses water from the Danube to cool its reactors, but the exceptionally low water level has tested the ability of pumps to bring sufficient quantities into the plant.
Speaking at a news conference at the plant on Friday, Magyar said further reductions in output were imminent later Friday and that the entire plant will likely be powered down by Tuesday or Wednesday. He stressed that the shutdown can be performed safely and poses no risk to the public or environment.
The Soviet-built, four-reactor plant at Paks accounts for nearly half of Hungary's electricity production. If it is powered down, it will be the first time in its 44 years of service.
Hungary and much of Central Europe has been in a prolonged period of drought in recent months, disrupting tourism, agriculture and industry and confronting residents with the realities of climate change. Water levels are not expected to rise on the Danube in the coming days or even weeks as no significant rainfall is forecast.
Magyar said Friday that the Danube’s water level has only risen on three occasions in the month of August in the last 20 years, and added that the level at Paks could recede to as low as negative 144 centimeters (negative 57 inches) — far below the previous record of negative 98 centimeters (negative 39 inches) set in 2018.
A level of negative 134 centimeters requires the full powering down of the plant, he said. A negative reading means the river has fallen below the gauge’s zero reference level, not that the river is empty.
Hungary's government has requested that large companies that consume large quantities of energy voluntarily reduce their consumption to help stabilize the energy supply, particularly in peak demand hours between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Magyar said Hungarian energy conglomerate MOL had committed to reducing its electricity needs by 65 megawatt-hours, a decrease of 40% from its normal consumption.
Magyar announced Friday that his party had recommended suspending parliamentary sessions planned for Monday and Tuesday in the interest of conserving energy. He also ordered that all state institutions turn off decorative lighting by Monday.
The MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which had to close its Reactor 3 due to extremely low water levels on the Danube River, is seen in Paks, Hungary, Wednesday July 29, 2026. (Daniel Kiss)
The MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which had to close its Reactor 3 due to extremely low water levels on the Danube River, is seen in Paks, Hungary, Wednesday July 29, 2026. (Daniel Kiss)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A crisis at the border in Ceuta, a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa, has resulted in unsubstantiated claims about Spain’s migration policies and the causes of the border surge at the territory’s frontier with Morocco.
Some 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, local Spanish officials have said, equivalent to 70% of the city’s regular population. At least 41 migrants died attempting the crossing either by drowning while trying to swim to Spanish territory or in a stampede.
Here’s a look at the facts.
CLAIM: Spain’s move to legalize the status of immigrants caused the rush.
THE FACTS: Spain’s government is carrying out an amnesty for immigrants without residency permits who could prove they had been living in the country for at least five months and arrived before Jan. 1, 2026. Over 1 million people applied before the window closed at the end of last month.
Critics, including U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, say that the amnesty sparked the rush to the Ceuta border by sending the message that Spain is lenient on migrants.
Spain's “weak law, bad management” was to blame, Trump said Friday. The U.S. State Department doubled down in a post on X, saying that “this unacceptable incident is the direct result of the Spanish Government’s deliberate efforts to enable and facilitate mass illegal migration into Europe.”
Spain's government strongly rejects that premise, saying that criminal gangs were behind the border crisis. Madrid has tried to maintain a hard line on illegal attempts to cross its borders while encouraging orderly arrivals of workers, who the government says are needed to keep up the country's strong economy.
Poverty and youth unemployment are high in neighboring Morocco, particularly away from coastal cities that have experienced some development in recent years. Gen Z-led protests last year called for social justice and better public services. The inequality has prompted many young Moroccans to attempt to leave for Europe in search of better economic opportunities.
Still, it isn’t fully clear what caused the sudden surge in crossings at Ceuta.
CLAIM: A misconstrued Spanish court ruling is to blame.
THE FACTS: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has pushed the argument that a recent ruling by Spain's Supreme Court had been intentionally misconstrued by migrant smugglers to convince thousands of people to cross the border by swimming around the border fence.
That court ruling said migrants arriving by sea could not be summarily deported without due process, unlike those who cross by land or climb the border fence because they had not crossed a physical barrier.
Migration and human rights activists said social media posts and misinformation helped fuel the departures.
“The departures were promoted in a certain way. At first, people were hearing that the border was open, and then everyone started referring to the Spanish court decision. That contributed to the crossings,” said Achraf Maimouni, a human-rights activist.
CLAIM: Morocco intentionally opened the border
THE FACTS: In 2021, more than 8,000 people crossed the Ceuta border when Moroccan border officials dropped their guard, sparking a diplomatic crisis between the neighbors.
The move was broadly interpreted as retaliation from Morocco for Spain’s decision to allow a pro-independence leader from the disputed Western Sahara region to receive medical treatment at a Spanish hospital. Sánchez defused the crisis when he shifted his country’s long-standing position on Western Sahara, and met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI the following year.
In this most recent crisis, which dwarfs the one five years prior, the first response by Spanish officials was to say that Moroccan counterparts were working alongside them to stop the rush. Whatever those efforts were, they proved ineffective as migrants kept steadily coming from all over Morocco to the border, with thousands breaching the frontier on Thursday and Friday.
An Associated Press freelance photographer in Ceuta witnessed Moroccan gendarmes standing aside with their arms crossed on Thursday as thousands of migrants passed near them into Ceuta. Eventually, Moroccan security forces stepped up, employing tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse large groups of migrants reaching the border on Friday.
Morocco’s ambassador to Spain expressed hope that those who crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory would return, saying the situation had unfolded against Rabat’s wishes.
Yet Morocco has never officially recognized Ceuta and its sister Spanish enclave, Melilla, as European territory even though they have been under Spanish control for centuries.
CLAIM: The surge in migrants is payback for Sánchez’ position on Iran and Gaza.
The mass crossing has given birth to conspiracy theories online, including one take that sees Trump and Israel encouraging a friendly Morocco to let this happen as payback for Spain's position on immigration and its harsh criticism of their joint attack on Iran and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
THE FACTS: Trump has for months raged against Spain and recently threatened to end trade with the European country, and the Israeli leader has accused Spain of waging a diplomatic war against his country. But there is no evidence to support claims of a U.S. or Israeli hand in the Ceuta crisis.
CLAIM: Those who crossed will end up in mainland Europe.
THE FACTS: The Ceuta crossings have led to political leaders both in Italy and France to take measures that appear aimed at stopping people from entering their countries. Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend Italy’s open-border Schengen agreement with Spain even though Italy doesn’t share a border with Spain and is also an entry point for tens of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean each year. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France would also strengthen border checks with Spain.
While the influx is clearly unmanageable for the city of Ceuta, the impact of the crossing will mostly be limited to the Spanish territory and have limited impact on mainland Spain.
Spain said it had struck a deal with Morocco to return those who entered the country illegally.
More than half of the people who crossed had already returned to Morocco voluntarily by Friday afternoon, and those who will remain in Ceuta will either be sent back eventually or face a long period of legal limbo and possibly spells in government-run centers.
Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
Belongings left behind by migrants float in the sea after they crossed from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
Migrants return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
A migrant runs from Spanish police officers as they cordon off access to the beach for people crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
Migrants rest outside the Temporary Center for Immigrants (CETI) after crossing from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Friday, July 31, 2026. CETI is the Spanish acronym for the migrant reception center. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)
