VIPOTNIK OPTIMISTIC ABOUT BLOCKING NUCLEAR WASTE PLAN AT TRGOVSKA GORA

BANJA LUKA, FEBRUARY 14 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Minister for Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology Bojan Vipotnik believes that Republika Srpska and BiH are on the right track to prevent Croatia from disposing of nuclear waste at Trgovska Gora, near the border with BiH, noting that the Espoo Convention has scheduled a confrontation of the opposing sides for May.

Speaking in the SRNA podcast, Vipotnik emphasized that there is absolute consensus at all levels of government in BiH regarding this issue, and noted that a series of activities have been undertaken toward the Secretariat of the Espoo Convention and the SEA Protocol concerning Croatia’s actions.

"Croatia is conducting the procedures in a non-transparent manner and has not allowed our experts to participate in research on Croatian territory. We have completed field research on the side of Republika Srpska and Federation of BiH, laboratory analyses are underway, and in this way we will complete the segment of our argumentation, while the legal team is preparing the legal case," Vipotnik said.

He stressed that Croatia has still not submitted the environmental impact study, which is crucial to the entire process, but that the Espoo Convention has nevertheless opened the Trgovska Gora case based on submissions from the competent ministry.

"They realized that something was not right, invited Croatia to respond to our allegations, asked us for additional clarification, and as a result scheduled a hearing with Croatia in Geneva in May," Vipotnik pointed out.

He assessed this as an important step, given that at the international level it has been recognized that Croatia is violating international norms and protocols.

"The European Commission has officially warned Croatia that it is not acting in accordance with protocols and rules of conduct regarding this issue," Vipotnik stressed, adding that public opposition is becoming increasingly visible in Croatia as well.

He thanked the media for continuously reporting on the Trgovska Gora issue, mentioning SRNA as one of the most active outlets covering the developments.