The tug of war on the plan to reform the law on irrigation in Andalusia and that would affect the Doñana Natural Park continues in Brussels. The leader of the Social Democratic group, the Spanish Iratxe GarcÃa Pérez, met with the Executive Vice President, Frans Timmermans, in charge of the Green Pact, and Virginijus Sinkevicius, Commissioner for the Environment, to whom she conveyed her concern over the new proposed law on the Junta de AndalucÃa and has requested that it be paralyzed “urgently”.
Iratxe GarcÃa recalled that the new law may affect a time of “extreme heat wave in southern Europe”. “It is urgent that we can paralyze the law proposal that endangers the viability and future of one of the largest ecosystems in the European Union. Doñana belongs to no one but it is everyone’s responsibilityâ€, the politician has argued.
The leader of the Social Democratic party has assured that in her meeting, the position of the European Commission “has been very clear and forceful”. “We must comply with the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU. The Spanish state has the obligation to implement this sentence and this sentence is contrary to what the regional law proposes â€, she added, referring to the order issued two years ago in which she demanded measures from Spain due to the lack of protection of the natural park.
In addition, GarcÃa Pérez has discussed with the Commission other legislation currently being processed by the European Parliament —such as the Biodiversity Restoration Law— and which he hopes the European People’s Party can support. “The Popular Party has to choose if it is with the deniers or with those who want there to be a future for this planet and also for Doñana”, he has settled.
Although it has admitted that the Commission “is aware” that the situation is leading to “a political debate” in Spain, Brussels is in charge of “guaranteeing the application of the sentence” and there is “a clear position that does not give rise to interpretation â€. After their meeting, the European Commission has recalled that it will not hesitate to take “the necessary measures” to ensure that Spain complies with the sentence.
Last month, the European Commission gave Spain an ultimatum to comply with the decision of the Court of Justice and urged it to apply measures to protect the Doñana wetland, because the current ones are “insufficient”.
The meeting of the socialist group joins the one that took place last week between the Andalusian Minister of the Environment, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, and the Euroepo commissioner of the branch, who warned of “the disastrous effects” of the Board’s plan.
