The fence around the US Embassy in Bratislava will remain in the historic centre of the city as the rental of land in front of the Embassy has been solved after three years. Following the meeting of the Bratislava city council held on 30th May, the embassy will pay the rental of over EUR 480 thousand a year.
Three years ago, the same rental was not approved due to protests of some members of the municipal parliament who claimed the US Embassy did not have a valid construction permit to build the fence.
"We lost almost a million and a half EUR and nothing changed," said Bratislava Mayor Matus Vallo who finds the situation to have been a political game of the previous municipal government. Following the new agreement, the fence will not be defined as an illegal construction.
The existence of the security zone in front of the US Embassy is supported by the Security Zone Agreement between the US and the Old Town borough, and the statement of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The new rental agreement is valid for the next six years with the option to extend it for 3 more years in case the Embassy would submit a permit to build a new location before the rental of the land under the fence expires. After the 6 years, the US Embassy will pay 3 cents for the whole venue in question. "Bratislava citizens can now understand it better," said opposition MP Jan Budaj adding that now it will be paid for the land under the fence in the city historical centre.
The US Embassy plans to move in the future with having showing interest in a different estate in the center and Congress having allocated money for constructing a new building. The controversial fence in the Bratislava downtown was built in 2002 as part of the safety measures taken after the 0911 terrorist attacks in the USA.
