Zagreb (IKA) — The Justitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops issued an appeal to the Croatian authorities and public regarding the Družba Adria project.

The Commission expressed concern and disapproval due to the state of legal and civil uncertainty that for three years has characterized this project of the export of high-sulfur Siberian oil through the Croatian oil pipeline (Janaf) and the Omišalj harbor. It points out that the legal deadlines for the assessment of the professional basis and completeness of the Environmental Impact Study of this project have been violated many times. It expresses concern due to the incomprehensible leniency shown toward the initiator of this project, the public company Janaf, that has already been allowed to correct and amend this study twice.

This extra-legal leniency by the authorities additionally worsens the fact that the Republic of Croatia, a candidate country for membership in the European Union, is not respecting the recommendations of the European Union in this matter on the transport of oil via land, and not by sea, the regulations of the European Union on environmental impact assessment, or the international and European conventions that it has accepted, and which obligate it to inform neighboring countries of potential trans-border environmental impact and seek their opinion.

The current state of uncertainty due to the lack of assessment of the Janaf Study and “make-up examinations” has lasted for over a year. It worries the public, particularly the citizens who are seriously and continuously endangered by the worn-out Janaf pipeline and hazards from the export of Russian oil through the Adriatic, in terms of human health, sources of potable water or the permanent destruction of the ecosystem and the beauty and purity of the Adriatic Sea.

The Croatian public is justifiably sensitive to the potential threat to Croatia’s permanent natural resources and comparative advantages — the sea and sources of water — that must remain a heritage for generations to come. The Commission is well aware that the danger of oil spills from the worn-out pipeline or shipwrecks is real but not inevitable. However, the Commission and public are also well aware that under the current conditions without a ruling regarding the ballast water of the tankers that would come for the Russian oil in Omišalj, this other danger is inevitable and it is possible to destroy the Adriatic irreparably, as the Red Sea was destroyed in only eight years by ballast water, i.e. by invasive species, toxins, viruses and bacteria from other seas. Moreover, the Commission warns that for now there is no acceptable solution for the highly volatile toxic gases that are released when oil is loaded on tankers.

The Commission expects that the Croatia will not approve such unacceptable hazards to Croatian citizens, public services (water supply) and economic activities (tourism, fisheries, fishing etc.), until the Janaf pipelines are rebuilt and effective supervision over the exchange of ballast water is established, pursuant to the February 2004 Convention of the International Maritime Organization of the United Nations. Furthermore, the Commission expects that the Croatian government will respect the general good and public good, and not the partial interest of one company that is in a position to endanger the common good.

At the end of the document, the Justitia et Pax Commission of the Croatian Conference of Bishops concludes that this project does not contribute to the Croatian oil supply but promotes foreign interests and accepts the risk of oil spills on the land or sea, as well as the destruction of the ecosystem and the biological diversity of the Adriatic Sea. Therefore, the Commission expects the Croatian Government to put an end to the state of the uncertainty and illegality surrounding this potentially very dangerous project, to withdraw from it and to inform the Croatian public and foreign partners of its withdrawal.

The Commission further emphasizes that it would be in the public interest for the Croatian authorities to inaugurate an initiative regarding this case among Adriatic countries for the uniform wealth of the Adriatic, a small and closed sea, in order to protect it effectively and permanently and seek the status of a “Particularly Sensitive Sea Area” from the United Nations International Maritime Organization.

The appeal was signed by the president of the Justitia et Pax Commission, Auxiliary Bishop Vlado Košić of Zagreb.

At the thirty-first plenary session of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, held from October 10 to 13 in Split, great concern was expressed due to the still unresolved question regarding the transport of oil that threatens the destruction of the Adriatic Sea, which would signify an irreplaceable loss for Croatia. The bishops asked the Justitia et Pax Commission to contact the Croatian authorities and public in connection with these questions.