South East Europe says no to nuclear power

 

An anti-nuclear campaign that began in Croatia, launched by the Greens and the local government in Erdut, has gathered steam and spread beyond the national boundaries into Serbia, where there are concrete plans to develop nuclear power stations.

Environmental organisation Green Network of Vojvodina, has in fact come forward with a public statement supporting the campaign in Croatia and inviting the public to sign the petition against nuclear power station in Erdut.

Nikola Aleksic, the president of the Novi Sad’s Environmental Movement presented information confirming the plans for a future nuclear power station. “President Boris Tadic has already agreed a loan to finance the construction of a power station in Kostolac, on the Danube”, said Aleksic, who added that the deal was made three years ago, when the Government reached an agreement with international nuclear corporation WestingHouse.

Recently the Serbian Ministry of Science had said that even though Serbia didn’t have the billions of euros needed to build a power station, it could join other projects, in particular the planned nuclear facility in Erdut, Croatia, as well as the expanded capacities of the power station in Paks, Hungary.

Civil society concerned
Both the public and environmentalists are concerned mainly by the issue of nuclear waste and its storage. Novi Sad’s Environmental Movement says that if Tadic`s idea becomes reality, the storage facilities will probably be located underground, in Fruška Gora National Park.

The associations and political parties won’t stop their campaigning and aim to intensify their actions. The Petition against nuclear power plant in Croatia has already been posted on several national web portals.

Facebook campaigns
A fierce forum opened on Facebook too. “Why am I against the nuclear power station in Dalj?” says the title. And it confirms the belief that most of the citizens who are aware of the issue feel strongly about it and are definitely against the power station. On the other hand, however, there is an equally, if not stronger, pro-nuclear lobby  that is also active on the internet and uses a number of forums to argue against their opponents.

Early this fall, an international anti-nuclear conference is planned to take place in Osijek and Dalj, which will send a clear message to the Government: NO to nuclear power stations, YES to renewable energy and energy efficiency.