In February, Hungarian Environment Minister Gabor Fodor accused neighbouring Austria of failure to deal with river pollution emanating from a leather factory situated on a river that flows through both countries.

Fodor made the allegations after visiting the Raba River (the Raab in Austria) at Szentgotthard, a Hungarian town near the Austrian border. According to the environment minister, recent samples taken from the river show that tanning waste has risen threefold in the past five years, despite pressure from Hungary to bring pollution to below acceptable limits.

“Our patience is at an end. Austria has to finally come up with a satisfactory solution,” Fodor was quoted in Reuters. Meanwhile, the Hungarian government has been unsuccessful in urging Austria to revoke the Wollsdorf plant’s operating license. Despite the refusal, the two governments did strike an accord in summer 2007 to the effect that Austria would crack down on pollution and inform Hungary of violations. Hungary claims that Austria has failed to honour its pledge. Austria, for its part, vouches for the effectiveness of the factory’s “state-of-the-art” water-treatment facilities.