Revolting: Samsung factory in Hungary could be closed immediately under new court order
The Samsung factory in Göd, Hungary could be closed down immediately, according to a court order, as the factory’s environmental permit has been annulled.
Samsung factory in Göd could be closed down
The 10-year environmental permit for the Samsung factory in Göd, issued last December, has been challenged in court by the Göd-ÉRT Association. The NGO has asked the court to order immediate legal protection and to prohibit the Samsung factory from using the environment for the duration of the lawsuit, Átlátszó reports.
The Budapest District Court ruled that the request of the civilians was well-founded and ordered the suspension of the filing of the statement of claim until the end of the lawsuit, Átlátszó quotes the association’s statement on the matter.
At the end of last year, the Göd-ÉRT Association for the Protection of the Environment and Towns (Göd-ÉRT Környezetvédelmi és Városvédő Egyesület) argued that the operation of the factory (authorised by the authorities) did not comply with either Hungarian or European environmental standards.
According to the association, the Pest County Government Office did not take into account, among other things, the plant’s noise pollution, which had been present for years, when issuing the permit. It was also extremely permissive in the matter of air and water pollution and battery waste generated during production.
The association has now announced on its social media page that the Budapest District Court has ruled that the application is well-founded and ordered the full stay of the action, i.e. it has applied the institution of immediate legal protection and
annulled the environmental permit of Samsung SDI Plc.’s Göd factory until the final outcome of the case.
According to the NGO, the decision, which banned the Göd factory from using the environment, should lead the authority to order the suspension of the plant’s operation. The association has also sent a letter to the Pest County Government Office and Samsung Hungary Plc. calling on them to shut down the Göd factory.
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Unlikely. Samsung is a juggernaut – our Politicians would never allow the shut down of this plant (and the basis is an old one – former LCD panel factory). Which is actually very understandable! Trick is to make Samsung take all the necessary steps to be compliant in all material aspects, without anyone losing face. Foreign direct investment is important for Hungary – we desperately need it (especially given our current budget deficits).