BOJIĆ: WE WILL PREVENT CONSTRUCTION OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITE AT TRGOVSKA GORA AND WILL NOT BACK DOWN

SARAJEVO, DECEMBER 15 /SRNA/ – Coordinator of the BiH Legal and Expert Team for Trgovska Gora Borislav Bojić said that the Croatian Parliament made a mistake by adopting the Law on the Construction of a Radioactive Waste Management Center at the Trgovska Gora site, stressing that BiH will not give up and will succeed in preventing the establishment of a radioactive waste disposal facility at that location.

In a statement to SRNA, Bojić pointed out that the Croatian Parliament adopted the law under an urgent procedure, which is not standard practice when it comes to regulations related to the construction of nuclear facilities.

"The fact is that the Parliament failed to take into account proposals and suggestions coming from all local communities in the immediate vicinity of the site in Republika Srpska—Novi Grad, Prijedor, Kostajnica, Gradiška, Krupa na Uni—as well as from the Federation of BiH—Bihać, Cazin, Bosanska Krupa and Sanski Most," Bojić emphasized.

He noted that the same letter was sent jointly by Republika Srpska and the Federation of BiH, as well as by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations within the Council of Ministers, which coordinates all activities aimed at preventing Croatia from building such a nuclear facility, namely a disposal site for radioactive waste and spent fuel from the Krško nuclear power plant.

"This is yet another mistake made by Croatia. Back in 2019, Croatia announced that it would begin disposing of nuclear fuel the following year, and that timeline has been repeatedly postponed to 2028," Bojić reminded.

According to him, BiH has recently addressed the European Commission, and today submitted a response following a request from the Espoo Committee in Geneva. Based on proposals by the legal and expert team and a legal adviser from Paris, BiH provided its official position on the matter, and Croatia is obliged to do the same.

"What happened today is another mistake by Croatia. We will not give up, and we will succeed in preventing the construction of such a nuclear facility, because there is not a single fact indicating that this area is suitable for such activities," Bojić said, recalling that no institution in BiH has given its consent.

He added that all necessary studies have been carried out, and that a symposium was recently held at the Academy of Sciences in Banja Luka, as well as a scientific conference in Bihać, where experts and scientists concluded that there is no possibility for such a facility to be built.

"We will foil Croatia’s intentions, because I am convinced that the arguments are on our side. We have addressed the European Commission and have the means to respond appropriately through a well-prepared team that has developed the Legal Protection Strategy of BiH regarding the disposal of radioactive waste," Bojić added.

He said the strategy is excellent and that its implementation will certainly yield results.

Bojić noted that Croatia has for some time been attempting to avoid its obligations under the Espoo Convention (Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context) and the Aarhus Convention (Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters), obligations it assumed within the framework of the European Commission.

"In none of the procedures has Croatia acted as required. Therefore, the adoption of this law is not final and nothing has been resolved, except that Croatia is accelerating the process and trying to evade obligations imposed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna regarding the construction of such facilities," Bojić said.

The Croatian Parliament today adopted the Law on the Construction of a Radioactive Waste Management Center at Trgovska Gora. The law was supported by 77 MPs, with 36 abstentions and 21 votes against.

It was stated that the adoption of the law will ensure spatial and planning designation of the site for the radioactive waste management center and define the conditions for implementing the project.

In this way, the timely establishment of the center will be ensured, as well as the disposal of institutional waste from Croatia, which is necessary for fulfilling international obligations related to radioactive waste and spent institutional sources.

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, near the border with BiH.