On the occasion of the founding of the state, József Eck, program director of Paks II. Nuclear Power Plant Ltd., has received the Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit in recognition for his decades long high-quality professional and managerial work. János Süli, state secretary responsible for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant investment also attended the event. 

József Eck has been working for more than four decades in the nuclear industry. He has worked his way up the ladder in the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, he is familiar with the currently operating NPP units since the beginnings and has been participating in the new NPP investment from its start.  

Technology and industry minister László Palkovics has awarded 14 medals with the assistance of state secretary Zsófia Koncz on 22 August in Pesti Vigadó to energy industry professionals, among others, László József Sipos (Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit), retired lead quality assurance engineer of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant and Pál Vincze (Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit), retired Head of Nuclear Engineering Department of the International Atomic Energy Agency.