Austrian parliamentary deputy Gerald Grosz said in a statement on Wednesday after visiting Croatia earlier this week that the jointly owned Croatian-Slovenian nuclear power plant Krsko could become a stumbling block on Croatia's road to the European Union, according to the Austrian APA news agency.
The Croatian side shares the concern about the reactor, Grosz said in a comment on talks he held in Zagreb.
Grosz, a member of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZOe) in the Austrian parliament, visited Zagreb on Monday as a member of the Austria-Croatia friendship group. During the visit, he also held talks with Croatian Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic.
Grosz said his party politically supported Croatia's accession to the EU and believed Croatia met all membership criteria, noting that he made it clear also at the talks in Zagreb.
However, it is also a fact that the nuclear power plant Krsko poses a huge danger for Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, Grosz warned, adding that before the Austrian parliament ratified Croatia's accession treaty, Croatia should withdraw from Krsko or reach agreement with Slovenia to shut it down.
On this depends the BZOe's consent to Croatia's accession, he said, calling on the Austrian government to talk Croatia and Slovenia into closing down Krsko.
Christian Hoebart, a member of parliament from the Austrian Freedom Party (FPOe), who also was a member of the Austrian delegation that visited Zagreb, said in a statement he believed that Croatia had met all EU membership criteria, but he, too, pointed to the problem of Krsko.
The Krsko nuclear plant is a thorn in Austria's side because it is located in an earthquake-prone area close to the border with Austria, Hoebart said.
He said his party expected Croatia to increase the share of alternative energy sources and to see to it that Krsko was closed down as soon as possible, adding that Austrian companies could help in that process.
