Hungarian premier wants "deeds, not words" on Tisza River pollution

Viktor Orban told journalists on 18 March after meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Mugur Isarescu, in Budapest that while he has received "all possible explanations" about the causes of the Tisza River pollution, "Hungary has suffered damages caused by others and those others must pay compensation." He said Hungarian legal advisers will soon decide whether to seek that compensation from the Romanian government, Romanian Radio reported. Isarescu said he will ask the EU to help Romania introduce European environmental standards. On 17 March, Hungarian officials said heavy metals pollution was again spotted in the river, but they added that such pollution is less concentrated than earlier. Isarescu was attending a Budapest conference on the Balkan Stability Pact. MS