Aug. 30, 2008
Bulgaria's Belene nuclear power plant project has been the subject of much domestic controversy since the 1980s, but the European Commission's decision in December 2007 to green-light facility construction has raised deep concerns in the neighbouring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well. Located some 275 kilometres from the Macedonian border, the Belene site not only lies in an area prone to seismic activity, but groups in both countries also have safety worries about the proposed pair of yet-untested, Russian-built reactors.
Bulgarian officials had actually approached Macedonia in 2005 with an invitation to partner in the Belene project, but the move ended up triggering vigorous debate within Macedonian society, as the public was effectively excluded from taking part in the decision-making process.
"In case of a serious accident in Belene or terrorist attack on the power station, Macedonia would also feel the effects," Macedonian activist Marija Jankovska commented at the time. "When my country debates participating in the project, we should certainly be allowed to study the possible impacts and have our concerns considered in the final decision to build or not build Belene."
Macedonia-based CSO Eko-svest (Eco-Sense) followed with a request to the Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MoEPP) for assurance that the public would be party to the project assessment, in line with Espoo Convention principles on transboundary impact assessment, which both Bulgaria and Macedonia ratified. Ana Colovic, also from Eko-svest, alleged recently that the MoEPP discussed the issue with the Espoo Secretariat, and that it was argued at the time that Espoo Convention principles only applied in cases where the distance involved was 100 kilometres or less. Contacted by Green Horizon, the MoEPP was unable to comment officially on the allegation.
Meanwhile, Eko-svest countered with an official request to the Bulgarian government for: full disclosure of information concerning the project (i.e. the EIA study); and the involvement of Macedonian citizens in project assessment. Turned down in both cases, the CSO went to Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court, citing violations of both Aarhus and Espoo convention principles. After one year, the court ruled in favour of disclosing project information to Macedonia, but stopped short of taking a decision on citizen involvement.
On May 20, environment ministers and high-level representatives from seven South-East European countries adopted and signed an agreement in Bucharest that will extend provisions for implementation of the Espoo Convention. The seven countries that have adopted and signed the agreement are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
