Minister Košarac: Croatia's Decision is Scandalous and Extremely Problematic, and It is Especially Worrying that is Coming at The Time of The Fight Against Coronavirus

Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH Staša Košarac requested that the relevant institutions check the accuracy of the latest information that appeared in public regarding the construction of a radioactive and nuclear waste disposal on Trgovska gora in Croatia, near the border with BiH.

Last night, Minister Košarac was informed by the media that the Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy had given the location of the former Čerkezovac military warehouse in the Dvor municipality to the Fund for Financing the Decommissioning and Disposal of Radioactive Waste of Nuclear Power Plant Krško.

"This morning, I sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH asking for the official position of the Croatian authorities regarding these media allegations to be requested through the diplomatic network. In order to get additional information, I have scheduled a meeting with the Croatian ambassador to BiH for tomorrow, and I will ask the same from the BiH ambassador to Croatia,"said Minister Košarac.

During the day, he held an urgent telephone conversation with the head of the EU Delegation to BiH, Johan Sattler, during which he reiterated that Croatia's intention to build a nuclear and radioactive waste disposal site on the border with BiH is completely unacceptable, which is agreed by all levels of government in BiH.

"If the allegations that the relevant Croatian ministry gave the green light for the construction of the disputed landfill turn out to be true, my position is that it is a completely scandalous and extremely problematic decision, because it endangers 250,000 people living in municipalities in the Una River Basin. I am especially concerned about the fact that the mentioned information comes at a time when we are facing a coronavirus epidemic, when we are fighting with all our might to protect the health of every human being and mitigate the negative effects on our economy as much as possible, "said Minister Košarac.

He reiterated his commitment to further developing bilateral relations with Croatia and good neighborly relations.

"I believe that it is completely unnecessary to increase the negative tension in the relations between BiH and Croatia and I believe that the issue of building the disputed landfill needs to be resolved through diplomacy," said Minister Košarac.

He announced that, after receiving the official position of the relevant authorities of Croatia, he would address the EU Delegation to BiH.

 "Today, I received a conviction from the head of the EU Delegation to BiH that he will be actively involved and help us resolve this issue," said Minister Košarac.

At the same time, he added, it is necessary to work on the realization of the conclusions from the Joint meeting he initiated in February with the representatives of the relevant entitities’ ministries, the parliamentary group "Green Club" and the Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety of BiH, with a focus on establishing a legal-expert team.

Minister Košarac concluded that BiH must use all legal possibilities to protect the environment and the health of its inhabitants, who would be endangered by the construction of the disputed landfill.