Istrochem Reality's Appeal Rejected, Case Goes Back to Beginning

Bratislava, 28 September (TASR) - The case involving liability for environmental damage at the site of the Istrochem chemical plant in Bratislava will go back to the beginning, as the Environment Ministry rejected appeals filed by the plant's current owner Istrochem Reality, TASR learnt from the ministry on Monday. By rejecting the appeals, the ministry confirmed three decisions of the Bratislava District Office which upheld prosecutor's protests against initial decisions to discontinue the proceedings on determining the party liable for the environmental damage. "We've fully upheld these objections and we're returning the whole process to the beginning," stated Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee). The capital city of Bratislava told TASR that the ministry's decisions were delivered on Friday (25 September). "These decisions are final and, according to the Code of Administrative Procedure, no appeal can be lodged against them. The decisions may be subject to review by a court," stated Bratislava spokesperson Peter Bubla. In the spring, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Bratislava filed three protests against district office decisions halting proceedings aimed at identifying the entity responsible for the environmental damage. According to the prosecution service, it hasn't yet been proven that the legal conditions have been met for the state to take responsibility for the clean-up. In response to the Environment Ministry's decision, Prosecutor-General (PG) Maros Zilinka said on Monday that the actions of the prosecution service "demonstrate the consistent protection of the public interest and the state's rights". The initial district office's decisions were previously challenged by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party and extra-parliamentary Democrats. "The Environment Ministry has rejected Istrochem Reality's appeals against the annulment of the Bratislava District Office's decisions issued in summer 2025. Through those decisions, the state had originally assumed responsibility for clearing up the environmental burdens at Bratislava's Istrochem," stated Democrats, describing it as a significant success in protecting hundreds of millions of euros of Slovak taxpayers' money. "In the subsequent proceedings, which are starting from scratch, the Bratislava District Office will have to really examine whether the conditions under the privatisation agreement have been met," according to Democrats. In the summer, Istrochem Reality appealed against all three decisions of the Bratislava District Office that upheld the prosecutor's protests, describing them as unfounded and arguing that the district office shouldn't have agreed with them. The former chemicals plant now known as Istrochem was purchased in 2022 by a holding that, at that time, belonged to billionaire and incumbent Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The cost of clearing up the environmental damage at Istrochem is estimated at €350-500 million. jrg