LMP initiates referendum to give citizens say on battery plants

Laszlo Lorant Keresztes, the head of parliament’s sustainable development committee, held a press conference after submitting the necessary documents at the National Election Office.

Protecting natural treasures and promoting national economic independence are key at a time of crises, he said.

The government’s decision to “turn Hungary into a battery manufacturing power” through political decisions goes contrary to those goals, he said. Battery manufacturing is also water and energy consuming at a time when those resources are in short supply in the country, he said.

Keresztes insisted the government was not handling the environmental issues the battery plants have presented, and “took foreign investors’ side” without gauging locals’ views on the matter.