Slovak Members of the European Parliament Pál Csáky (Party of the Hungarian Community, SMK-MKP) and Ivan Štefanec (Christian Democratic Movement, KDH) have called on the Slovak Government to take the resolution of the matter of the waste disposal facility (landfill) used to store hazardous waste originating from the former chemical plant Dimitrov in Bratislava very seriously, which is a legacy of the former Communist regime and a testament to its lack of interest in protecting health and the environment. ‘Long-term ignorance of this problem has grown into an untenable state. The inhabitants of the district of Vrakuňa (in Hungarian: Vereknye) can’t use their land and property freely because the underground water is significantly contaminated. We share their concerns over the infiltration of toxic substances into the soil, which poses a threat to the health of the inhabitants.
The European Parliament, after its Committee on Petitions deliberated on the petition by citizen, is ready to help finance the restoration of the former landfill site of chemical plant Dimitrov. We welcome the European Commission’s intention to earmark resources from the Operational Programme Quality of the Environment for the resolution of the problem. The contamination of groundwater is a much more serious problem because of the old environmental burden, which cannot be resolved merely by isolating the waste disposal site, as it would just postpone the problem for generations to come’, said the MEPs in their call.
‘We are therefore calling for the Slovak Government to prepare a comprehensive plan to eliminate waste disposal facilities of a similar kind, not only in Vrakuňa, but also elsewhere in Slovakia. The benefits for people’s health as well as the positive impacts on the environment will always outweigh any potential costs’, reads Pál Csáky and Ivan Štefanec’s call on the Slovak Government.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions deliberated on the petition submitted by Örs Orosz on the waste disposal facility in Vrakuňa on 22 January. According to Pál Csáky, Member of the European Parliament, the petition has been supported by all the political groups. Örs Orosz pointed out that the waste disposal facility in Vrakuňa puts the water resources of the region of Žitný ostrov (in Hungarian: Csallóköz) where a large part of the Hungarians live in danger, and threatens Central Europe with environmental disaster.
(Minority Reoirts, 1-2/18, www.felvidek.ma, 23 Jan 2018)
