Socialists turn to EC over disposal of Croatian, Slovenian sewage sludge in Hungary

The opposition Socialist Party has turned to the European Commission over the matter of Croatia and Slovenia exporting their sewage sludge to Hungary, the party’s MEP said on Wednesday.

István Ujhelyi told a press conference that he has turned to the European commissioners for health asking whether the European Commissioner had any knowledge of the matter or if it was aware that toxic materials had been moved between member states for years. Ujhelyi said his party also wanted to know whether this was in line with EU law and if the EU had allocated any funding for these dealings.

He said the matter was not an internal issue, arguing that it was about a form of trade between member states that “grossly violates” EU law.

Ujhelyi said the government’s decision to prevent the future entry of sewage sludge into Hungary would not be enough to resolve the issue, since the contracts currently in effect still permitted its entry.