On Thursday 8 March, the European Commission decided to refer Croatia to the EU Court of Justice for continued bad management of potentially harmful industrial waste at the illegal Crono brdo site in Biljane Donje.
For almost four years, despite several calls to order, the waste dumped at the above site, located less than 50 metres from human habitation, was not eliminated or managed in an appropriate manner, in breach of the provisions of the framework directive on waste (2008/09/EC).
Some 140,000 tonnes of production residue from the processing of ferromanganese and silicomanganese - that Croatia had omitted to classify as waste - were deposited directly on soil. This illegal practice constitutes a threat of pollution to groundwater and air as well as risks for the health of local populations and the environment, the Commission underlines.
Despite a letter of formal notice addressed to the Croatian authorities in March 2015 and a reasoned opinion in November 2016, the situation has not been addressed. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)