Bosnia and Herzegovina will not give up on blocking Croatia's construction of the radioactive waste dump site in Trgovska Gora, the location leaning on Bosnia's territory, Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Minister Stasa Kosarac said Wednesday, following the meeting with mayors representing towns in the affected area.
The minister also announced the formation of an expert team that would consist of representatives of the Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Ministry, competent entity ministries and the Head of the Agency for Nuclear Safety of Bosnia and Herzegovina within the next 15 days.
Kossarac said he was encouraged by the fact that the State Presidency passed specific conclusions concerning this matter and actions of all relevant institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, noting that everyone stands united in the attempt to block the nuclear waste dump site construction.
He also expressed hope the bilateral relations with Croatia will be preserved.
Miroslav Drljaca, the Mayor of Novi Grad, the town bordering Croatia, stressed that Croatia is investing a certain amount into “popularisation of nuclear energy and informing the population on this topic.”
“The most tragic thing is that they claim this is a safe story, which is not, because if Germany is giving up on its nuclear facilities and making a plan to shut them down, it means that this technology is neither stable nor good for the population and nature,” said the mayor.
He also said this was the first time Bosnia had a serious plan concerning this problem but that the country needs legal information in order to keep up the pace with Croatia which, according to him, has an advantage.
Trgovska Gora is located just north of the border, near the Bosnian town of Novi Grad. Croatia adopted strategic documents at the end of 2018 which name that area as a potential location for dumping nuclear waste.
In March 2019, Bosnia asked Croatia to reconsider its proposal to use the location as its dumpsite for nuclear waste, but Croatia failed to find a different location, saying that they never made a final decision regarding Trgovska Gora.
