Croatia's Economy and Sustainable Development Minister, Tomislav Coric, and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Trade Minister, Stasa Kosarac, on Tuesday held talks on cooperation in the energy sector and on plans to store low- and medium-level radioactive waste at Trgovska Gora.

After the meeting in Zagreb, Minister Coric said that they agreed that bilateral economic cooperation was excellent, however, the two countries wanted to intensify it.

The Adriatic-Ionian gas pipeline and interconnections in the border areas were also on the agenda of the meeting. Ćorić announced further talks on the construction of pipeline connection routes.

Also discussed was the issue of storage of low- and medium-level radioactive waste from the Krsko nuclear power plant, co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia, at Trgovska Gora in Dvor na Uni, near the Croatian-Bosnian border.

The Croatian fund for financing the disposal of radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant has said that the underground storage facilities that are part of the former Cerkezovac barracks at Trgovska Gora have been selected as a preferred site for the storage of the plant’s radioactive waste because its storage capacity guarantees full technical safety.

The Bosnian side opposes the idea.

Coric said today that he and his guest had greed that experts from both countries would hold meetings on a regular basis on this topic. Coric said that he could understand the reluctance from the Bosnian side. Therefore our communication on the issue must be intensified, he said.

Coric went on to say that the Trgovska Gora storage facility would be built according to the highest safety and environmental standards.

In January this year, the fund reported that “the storage facilities for radioactive waste will be built according to EUROCODES 7 and 8 with an increased factor of safety so that they can withstand earthquakes with greater magnitudes than expected and so that structures at the centre can be safe during earthquakes with great destructive force.”