CROATIA MUST RESPECT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND ITS EU OBLIGATIONS

BANJA LUKA, DECEMBER 11 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska and BiH oppose the construction of a radioactive waste disposal facility at Trgovska Gora, the Minister for Spatial Planning, Construction, and Ecology of Srpska Bojan Vipotnik has stated for SRNA, stressing that Croatia must respect international conventions and its status as an EU member.

Vipotnik said that the Croatian Parliament is scheduled today to debate the Draft Law on the Construction of a Radioactive Waste Disposal Center at Trgovska Gora. “It is clear that plans for the construction of the facility at the Čerkezovac site have reached their final phase and that BiH, as the potentially affected country, is being completely excluded from the process,” Vipotnik emphasized. He called on decision-makers in Croatia not to shift the risk onto the territory of BiH, “knowing that not a single kilowatt of electricity from Krško has ever come to BiH.” “Respect international conventions, respect your status as an EU member state, and do not underestimate us,” Vipotnik said. He reminded that Croatia, through a political decision in 1999, initiated the Trgovska Gora project without a single expert argument, declaring the former Čerkezovac military barracks at Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor the most suitable location for the disposal of institutional radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. “In the same manner, avoiding international obligations that require consultations and strategic environmental impact assessments in a cross-border context, Croatia is now, at the end of 2025, once again showing that the decision to transport radioactive waste from Krško to Trgovska Gora is political, takes precedence over expertise, and remains their only guiding criterion,” Vipotnik pointed out. A scientific symposium titled “Trgovska Gora – Proposed Location for Radioactive Waste Disposal” was held in Banja Luka yesterday. The adoption of the law on the construction of the center would create the conditions necessary to meet the requirements of the Croatian-Slovenian Intergovernmental Commission to begin building the facility as soon as possible, with the reception of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant to start no later than early 2028. Croatia plans to store radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, as well as existing institutional waste, at the Trgovska Gora site in the municipality of Dvor, directly on the border with BiH.