No more battery factories to be installed in Hungary? National referendum initiative submitted

Opposition LMP has initiated a referendum to make setting up battery plants conditional on local citizens’ consent.

László Lóránt 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.

As we wrote earlier, a public hearing in Debrecen was disturbed by the booing and yelling of the residents of the Eastern Hungarian city. Representatives of the Chinese CATL battery manufacturer and the mayor of Debrecen attended the event to present a 7.4bn EUR investment to the locals, details HERE.

Read alsoHungarians may say ‘NO’ on gigantic Chinese investment on referendum?