Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the meeting on Čerkezovac: A new phase of the procedure for radioactive waste begins

At the same time, the Republic of Croatia emphasized its full commitment to the transparent, responsible and constructive implementation of the environmental impact assessment procedure, in accordance with Croatian legislation, European Union law and international obligations.

It was especially emphasized that the Republic of Croatia has conducted open and effective cross-border consultations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and will continue this practice during all stages of the procedure.

In this context, it was confirmed that the environmental impact assessment procedure formally began on May 7, 2026 with the publication of relevant information on the website of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition. Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be sent an official notification in the coming days in accordance with Article 3 of the Espoo Convention, with an invitation to participate in cross-border consultations.

It was emphasized that the procedure is currently in an early stage and that all public and cross-border consultations will be conducted transparently and in accordance with the highest international standards, the press release states.

On December 15, Parliament passed the Law on the Construction of a Center for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste

On December 15, the Croatian Parliament passed the Act on the Construction of a Radioactive Waste Management Center under emergency procedure, which provides a regulatory basis for the construction of a waste disposal site from the Krško NPP, as well as domestic hospitals and industry, and the preferred location is Čerkezovac on Trgovska Gora.

According to the law, the construction of a facility for the disposal of radioactive waste is planned in the former military area of ​​Čerkezovac, with a mandatory environmental impact assessment before the start.

In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement with the Republic of Slovenia, Croatia should assume its obligation to ensure the disposal of half of the low- and medium-level radioactive waste generated in the Krško NPP.

The BiH Presidency announced on January 12, reacting to that decision, that it will try to challenge the construction of the radioactive waste disposal site on Trgovska Gora, including the initiation of an international dispute or arbitration against Croatia.

Reacting to the Croatian decision, the Presidency of BiH accepted the Draft Strategy for the Protection of BiH’s Legal Interests in Relation to the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, a document that specifies a series of steps to be taken to challenge the construction of the landfill.

On May 7, the Ministry published information on its website about the project holder’s request for the implementation of the environmental impact assessment procedure of the Center, i.e. the Fund for financing the decommissioning and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant.

The planned intervention refers to the establishment of a center for the disposal of radioactive waste in the territory of the Republic of Croatia in order to fulfill the obligations of disposal of institutional radioactive waste and half of the generated low- and medium-level radioactive waste from the Krško Nuclear Power Plant.

The center is conceived as a functionally organized unit that includes storage facilities, administrative and service facilities, and the associated traffic and communal infrastructure. The planned intervention refers to the long-term storage of radioactive waste (longer than 10 years). The storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel is not an integral part of the planned project and will be dealt with in a separate project.