BiH JOINS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

SARAJEVO, JULY 15 /SRNA/ - BiH has officially notified Croatia that it intends to participate in the environmental impact assessment procedure for the project to construct a long-term radioactive waste storage facility at Trgovska Gora, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers said.

In June, Croatia's Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition formally notified BiH of the launch of this procedure and requested a response on whether BiH intended to participate in cross-border consultations, in accordance with the Espoo Convention.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations forwarded to the Croatian side, together with its letter, the response from the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology of Republika Srpska, which serves as the contact point for the Espoo Convention.

The response stressed that Croatia's notification was unclear, incomplete, untimely and not aligned with the Espoo Convention and other international conventions, the statement said.

It also pointed out key shortcomings in Croatia's procedures related to the project and the need for the entire improperly conducted procedure to be returned to a significantly earlier stage. Previous requests were reiterated for the submission of relevant information and documentation, as well as for the establishment of a joint body and/or the conclusion of a special bilateral agreement on this issue.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations reminded that Croatia has still not submitted an environmental impact study or any documentation concerning the impact assessment.

The notification has effectively only announced the process of consultations and public hearings after the study is completed and submitted, the statement noted.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations announced that it will continue coordinating activities, as well as pursuing legal action before several international bodies against what it described as Croatia's improperly conducted project.

The statement stressed that Croatia should, instead of constructing the facility, comply with its international obligations and generally accepted principles of international law, and that radioactive waste from the "Krško" Nuclear Power Plant should be stored in the country where it originated and which is prepared to accept it, Slovenia.

"This is the only proper and acceptable solution, both for the population of BiH and the population of Croatia, especially given the fact that the selection of Čerkezovac was made through serious violations of international standards in the fields of environmental protection, nuclear energy and human rights, particularly with obvious environmental discrimination against the local population," the line ministry pointed out.

Croatia plans to store radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, as well as existing institutional waste, at Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor, directly on the border with BiH.