Opposition Claims State Freed Agrofert from Clean-up Obligations at Istrochem

Bratislava, 8 December (TASR) – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party claims that the state has unlawfully released the Agrofert conglomerate from its obligation to clear up pollution at the former site of the Istrochem chemicals plant in Bratislava, pointing to new documents that it's obtained, TASR learnt on Monday. In its response, the Environment Ministry stated that PS, through its remarks, is confirming that it doesn't want to remove the worst environmental damage in Bratislava and, moreover, doesn't understand decisions that were made in the past beyond the remit of the Environment Ministry. PS claimed that Agrofert acquired Istrochem along with its environmental damage, and the privatisation contract required the company to invest €33 million primarily in environmental measures. "New documents, which have not been published until now, show that the district office ruled in favour of Agrofert on the basis of investments that have very little or no connection to removing environmental damage," said Tamara Stohlova (PS), who is also a vice-chair of the House agriculture and environment committee. According to her, the investments included, for example, the purchase of a tanker, the reconstruction of an administrative building, the installation of a public address system on the premises, the reconstruction of a railway siding, and the expansion of a waste dump in another municipality. Stohlova noted that decisions regarding the environmental damage at Istrochem were made four times – once in 2016 and three times in 2025. "Today, Environment Minister Tomas Taraba is brandishing these decisions as the reason why, supposedly, the state alone must pay for the clean-up. Yet he still has the legal option to challenge at least three of the 2025 decisions," she underlined. She called on the minister to challenge this year's decisions, adding that PS is supplementing its complaint to the prosecution service with the latest findings. mf/df