sk flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by TASR.

Slovakia and Hungary held another round of negotiations on the Gabčíkovo waterworks

by AI | 27.Aug 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Slovakia and Hungary held another round of talks on the Gabčíkovo waterworks

Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic Tomáš Taraba negotiated with the Hungarian partner about the Gabčíkovo waterworks. PHOTO: TASR

Bratislava – Minister of Environment Tomáš Taraba (SNS) led the Slovak delegation in negotiations in Bratislava with the Hungarian delegation led by Minister of Energy Csaba Lantos on the resolution of a 30-year dispute related to the construction of the Gabčíkovo – Nagymaros waterworks system. The communication department of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic informed TASR about this.

The negotiations were also attended by the General Director of the state enterprise Water Management Construction Peter Molda and the General Director of the Hungarian energy company MVM Gábor Orbán.

“In less than half a year, seven bilateral negotiations of government representatives, delegations, and experts have already taken place,” noted the Ministry of Environment. Both sides agreed that it is necessary to align the current state with the legal state and find a mutually beneficial solution that ensures flood protection and international as well as recreational and sports navigation. It will also contribute to improving environmental conditions and will enhance the energy use of the Danube’s hydro potential at the Gabčíkovo Hydro Plant.

“As good neighbors, we want to end the dispute with mutual respect, good relations, but in such a way that both states find a permanently acceptable solution, which will only create a precondition for even greater cooperation in other areas as well. Today’s dynamics and the extent of the negotiations only confirm that both sides want to reach an agreement and in the near future present to the governments the basic convergences for the possible preparation of a new international agreement,” explained Minister Taraba.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague delivered a judgment on September 25, 1997, in the dispute between Hungary and the Slovak Republic concerning the construction and use of the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros waterworks system (SVDGN). The court confirmed the validity of the 1977 agreement, the succession of the Slovak Republic after the Czechoslovak Federative Republic (CSFR), and declared the construction of the alternative solution (Čunovo stage) justified. The court declared that both parties, in the interest of reconciling economic development with environmental protection, should jointly reexamine the impacts of utilizing the Gabčíkovo power plant on the environment. (August 27)