The Slovak parliament has amended the Environmental Act in response to calls by the European Commission, which threatened Slovakia with cutting the country off from European funds worth €12 billion. Deputies also hastily approved some small amendments that provide that people will not need to be informed about permission granted for construction of a nuclear power plant built close to their homes, according to the Sme daily.
Sme also wrote that this also allows information about how radioactive waste is treated or transported to be kept secret. According to the Via Iuris Center for Public Advocacy, the new act allows concealing information about nuclear facilities. Peter Wilfling, a lawyer who cooperates with Via Iuris, said for Sme that the act is against the Slovak Constitution and EU regulations.
Opposition MPs and some NGOs have called the new law unconstitutional and a political analyst said that the nuclear lobby is so strong that it influenced even some members of the opposition. Via Iuris stated that the fact that information about nuclear power plants will only be published only on the cabinet’s bulletin board, hundreds of kilometres away from potentially concerned citizens, is unheard of, Sme wrote. Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
