The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović Formally Requests Extraordinary Session of the Croatian Parliament

Today, the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, formally requested an extraordinary session of the Croatian Parliament, in accordance with Article 79, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia.

The request for an extraordinary session of the Croatian Parliament was submitted to the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Gordan Jandroković, featuring the following agenda:

1. Conclusion compelling the Government of the Republic of Croatia to immediately initiate a procedure for the permanent remediation of hazardous waste disposal site in Gospić, and compelling the Government of the Republic of Croatia to ensure permanent monitoring and control of groundwater pollution levels, as well as other environmental changes related to illegal waste disposal in order to safeguard human health, and prevent permanent damage for humans and the environment. The Government of the Republic of Croatia is further compelled to report to the Croatian Parliament within fifteen (15) days of the adoption of this Conclusion regarding the measures undertaken and the findings on groundwater pollution and other environmental changes. The Government of the Republic of Croatia is further compelled to submit a report regarding this topic to the Croatian Parliament every thirty (30) days. 

2. Conclusion compelling the Government of the Republic of Croatia to receive representatives of the citizens and citizen’s initiatives within three (3) days, brief them in detail on the situation and planned measures, and provide them with all other information related to the illegal waste disposal in Gospić. Furthermore, the Government of the Republic of Croatia is compelled to continuously inform the general public about all relevant data concerning the illegal waste disposal in Gospić.

3. Conclusion compelling the Government of the Republic of Croatia to immediately, and no later than fifteen (15) days, appoint a Chief State Inspector of the State Inspectorate.

4. Conclusion compelling the State Inspectorate to immediately initiate monitoring and control over all waste disposal sites in the Republic of Croatia for which there are justified suspicions of containing hazardous waste or waste disposed in an illegal manner, and compelling the State Inspectorate to submit a report on the results of the monitoring results to the Croatian Parliament every three (3) months.

The President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, explains his Request for an extraordinary session of the Croatian Parliament as follows:

The residents of Gospić and Lika-Senj County are concerned because of the threats to human health and environmental damage caused by the hazardous waste illegally disposed on the town’s area. Despite warnings from the very citizens and NGOs, hazardous waste has been brought in and illegally disposed in Gospić for years. The state institutions have failed to react accordingly because they did not prevent the bringing in of the hazardous waste, and after the danger for human health and environment was established, did nothing to remediate the damage done.

According to the findings of the environmental protection expert from the Faculty of Geotechnical Engineering of the University of Zagreb for the location of the industrial complex in Gospić, Bilajska 50, based on the conducted research, chemical analysis results, hydrogeological characteristics of the location, and additionally conducted analyses of PFAS compounds, it can be concluded that a local impact on groundwater quality has been established at that location. The obtained results indicate that this disposal site represents a highly probable source of PFAS compound migration into the underground aquifer, meaning that the migration of PFAS compounds into the groundwater has occurred. Therefore, the expert assessment has established that illegal waste disposal at that location is causing an actual local impact on groundwater.

Due to the illegal disposal of hazardous waste at the aforementioned location, investigative actions have been launched to determine the responsibility of all those involved. Regardless of the investigation and the expected punishment of those responsible, it is necessary to proceed immediately and without delay with the remediation of the hazardous waste disposal site in order to prevent further contamination of groundwater and the environment. It can already be reasonably claimed that the harmful impact of illegal hazardous waste on groundwater and the environment is also damaging human health in Gospić and the Lika-Senj County, and that any delay in remediation may cause additional, even greater contamination of groundwater and the environment, and consequently an even greater danger to human health.

Due to the properties of PFAS compounds already present in the groundwater, permanent damage has been inflicted on the environment and human health. Therefore, it is necessary to urgently halt the spread of damage and remediate the existing one. The activities undertaken so far by the Government of the Republic of Croatia, namely the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Green Transition and the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, have been neither timely nor adequate given the seriousness of the situation. Following the aforementioned additional findings of the environmental protection expert, it was to be expected that the Government of the Republic of Croatia would recognize the severity of the problem and urgently undertake remediation measures. Instead, the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković ignored the expert findings and downplayed the damage inflicted on people and the environment.

Based on the public statements of the officials of the Government of the RTepublic of Croatia, it can be concluded that the Government will not conduct any urgent measure, and that it will instead continue implementing the Waste Management Plan which includes the remediation of the illegal waste disposal site in Gospić. However, the implementation of the Plan cannot timely prevent the continuation of damage nor can it protect the people of Gospić from the harmful impact of the illegal hazardous waste disposal site.

The Parliament’s Environmental and Nature Protection Committee session, scheduled for Monday, 17 August 2026, was an opportunity to provide the citizens of Gospić, Lika-Senj County and the Republic of Croatia with clear answers regarding illegal hazardous waste disposal, as well as to obligate the Government of the Republic of Croatia and all institutions responsible, through further parliamentary procedure and based on Committee’s conclusions, to take necessary measures for urgent remediation and to prevent further environmental pollution and threats to human health. However, the Committee’s session was interrupted and nothing has been done to contribute to the urgent remediation of the hazardous waste disposal site.

Bearing all this in mind, I consider it necessary to convene an extraordinary session of the Croatian Parliament to discuss all circumstances and possibilities for initiating the remediation of the illegal hazardous waste disposal site in Gospić as soon as possible. Through its conclusions, the Croatian Parliament must obligate the Government of the Republic of Croatia to take action in order to prevent additional damage for human health and the environment, as well as halt the threat of permanent devastation of groundwater and nature in Lika-Senj County.

In order to prevent additional irregularities and illegal waste disposal, I consider it necessary to appoint a new Chief State Inspector. The Government of the Republic of Croatia dismissed the Chief State Inspector, Andrija Mikulić, on the session held on 27 November 2025, and has not appointed a new one to this day.

Although the State Inspectorate has been without a Chief State Inspector for more than eight months, the Prime Minister Andrej Plenković publically stated that a new one will be appointed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia “when it is considered necessary.” His words imply that Croatia does not need a Chief State Inspector, and that the State Inspectorate will continue to operate without a head, which is unacceptable especially in the current situation in which the Chief State Inspector should be ensuring the legality, efficiency, and unified action of all inspections in the country, as well as determining the priorities for inspection oversight.

Given that we are witnessing the discovery of a larger number of suspicious and illegal hazardous waste disposal sites in the Republic of Croatia, and that the State Inspectorate previously failed to act to prevent this – moreover, the former Chief State Inspector Andrija Mikulić was arrested due to suspicions of corruption related to illegal waste disposal – it is imperative to immediately appoint a Chief State Inspector who will change the current practice and ensure lawful, efficient, and unified action of all inspections in the country.

Changing the current practice must mean that, through timely actions and controls, the State Inspectorate will not only prevent a repetition of the case from Gospić, but also carry out inspections of all existing waste disposal sites to identify potential irregularities and violations of the law, and report on them to the institutions responsible, as well as to the Croatian Parliament.

I note that Article 81 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia stipulates that the Croatian Parliament supervises the work of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and other public officeholders accountable to the Croatian Parliament. I expect Members of Parliament to responsibly consider and discuss the proposed conclusions, as this concerns the health of the Croatian people, the protection of the nature we take pride in, and, ultimately, the future of one of Croatia’s most beautiful regions.