Environment and Energy Minister Tomislav Coric said on Monday that it had not been decided yet on whether a nuclear waste storage facility would be built on Mount Trgovska Gora near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and if such a decision were made, the neighbouring country would be able to raise its concerns.

Coric made the statement after being asked by the press in Zagreb whether a decision had been made to store medium and low radioactive waste from the Krsko nuclear power plant at Trgovska Gora and whether in that case Croatia should consult with the Bosnian authorities.

The Krsko plant is located in Slovenia and is co-owned by Slovenia and Croatia.

“As for Trgovska Gora, Croatia is considering that site, and as for opinions and signals from Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is fully justified for any country to think about what is happening in its neighbourhood and I don't see any problem with that,” the minister said.

He pointed out that disposal sites like that that existed across Europe were made according to the highest standards and posed no threat.

Coric said that if Croatia decided to dispose of its radioactive waste in the Trgovska Gora area it would contact Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring country would be able to raise its concerns then. He said that concerns could not be raised based on hearsay evidence but should be clearly founded, adding that he expected all parties involved to behave responsibly.

Coric said that the site of the nuclear waste storage facility would be decided after careful consideration. He added that the Croatia-Slovenia commission on this matter was meeting in September or October.

Asked what would happen if the Bosnian authorities continued to oppose the idea, Coric said that sometimes it was impossible to reconcile all views and that there were always those that were discontented. “I'm not prejudging the decision and I can't answer ‘what if’ questions.”

A protest rally was held outside the Croatian Embassy in Sarajevo on Monday against Croatia's plan to build a radioactive waste storage facility near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.