Taraba: Slovakia and Italy Sign Deal to Tackle Environmental Burdens

Bratislava, 18 July (TASR) - Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (SNS nominee) has signed a memorandum of understanding in Rome with Italy’s Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, and the agreement will pave the way for expert-level cooperation on using proven methods and cutting-edge technologies to prevent, monitor, and eliminate environmental burdens, the Environment Ministry told TASR on Friday. Taraba described Italy’s experience in addressing environmental contamination, including illegal landfills and legacy pollution, as “inspiring.” He highlighted Italy’s decision to create a state-run company staffed with experts as a model Slovakia could benefit from — especially in tackling its own environmental challenges. He specifically pointed to the toxic waste landfill in the Bratislava borough of Vrakuna, where hazardous chemicals have been deposited since 1966, now posing a serious threat to groundwater sources in the Zitny ostrov region. Taraba hopes to apply Italian expertise to the site’s remediation. In Rome, the minister also met with the leadership of Sogesid, Italy’s state-owned company specializing in environmental remediation. The two sides agreed to form a joint technical working group focused on finding solutions for cleaning up the Vrakuna site. „On Thursday (17 July), we already held the first technical-expert meeting. The Italian side assured us of their extensive experience in decontaminating areas similar to Vrakuna,” Taraba said. „I'm pleased we have EU funding secured for the project. Since Sogesid is a state enterprise, we can directly tap into its expert know-how.” mf