LMP calls for guarantees to protect water resources from battery makers

Laszlo Lorant Keresztes, of opposition LMP, told an online press conference that the government had changed the classification of large agricultural areas to investment areas in the direct vicinity of the water resources of Pecs, in southern Hungary, in order to enable the construction of a large industrial park. Twelve days after the government decision, ruling Fidesz politicians have yet to reveal concrete plans, the investors and whether the area has been designated for another battery plant, he said.

LMP agrees that investment is important but it must not be allowed to threaten water resources, he said.

Keresztes said he had contacted local MPs and the head of the local government to seek answers at personal meetings but they have declined to respond. Residents of Pecs and nearby Bicserd, the village where the affected area is located, deserve to know what investment is planned, he added.

He called on the Baranya County local government to hold an extraordinary meeting and ban the setting up of battery plants near water catchment areas.