NEWS

Slovenia to go to arbitration over Croatia‘s failure to meet the Treaty in connection with the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK)

In today’s press release, the Minister of the Economy Andrej Vizjak has outlined the contents of a letter he sent to his Croatian counterpart, Branko Vukelić, in which he indicated the possibility of separate arbitration proceedings of Slovenia against Croatia over Croatia’s failure to meet the provisions of the Treaty between the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Croatia on the regulation of the status and other legal relations regarding investment, exploitation and decommissioning of the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (Treaty).

In his letter, the Slovene Minister of the Economy Andrej Vizjak has informed the Croatian Minister of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship about the facts related to the obligations of both states regarding funds for the decommissioning of NEK and the radioactive waste- and spent nuclear fuel dump. Moreover, Minister Vizjak has stressed that both Slovenia and Croatia undertook the obligation to provide for regular precisely fixed payments to be made to a special fund and amounting to €1,3b defined in the adopted NEK Decommissioning Programme, including the radioactive waste- and spent nuclear fuel dump.

 

It is a fact that the programme has already been adopted and that the Republic of Slovenia meets its obligations on a regular basis (with a fund established for this purpose and receiving regular payments of stipulated amounts), while the Republic of Croatia has, to date, neither set up a special fund nor kept regular payments flowing into it. The Slovenian side has brought this to the Republic of Croatia’s notice on several occasions.

 

More than two years have passed since Croatia undertook the obligation to set up the fund in compliance with Article 11 of the Treaty. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has therefore authorised the Minister of the Economy Andrej Vizjak to express a strong resolve on the part of the Republic of Slovenia to go to arbitration against the Republic of Croatia without prior notice or reservation if the Republic of Croatia fails to take clear action, within 30 days after receiving the letter, to meet its obligations laid down in the Treaty.