The socialist group (S&D) at the European Parliament is organising an emergency parliamentary visit to Spain, whereas the Commission is threatening court proceedings over a law to be adopted by Andalucía´s regional parliament that would risk the Doñana National Park, protected by EU law.
The Doñana National Park is a natural reserve located in Andalucía, characterised by its wetland, marshland and dune biomes, and considered one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in Spain and in Europe. As such, the reserve is protected by EU law and is part of UNESCO´s World Heritage.
The parliament of Andalucia, with the support of far-right Vox (ECR) and centre-right Partido Popular (EPP), approved on Wednesday (12 April) the urgent processing of a new law that would expand the irrigable land around the national reserve.
The new law would allow for the continued depletion of Doñana’s groundwaters, already under strain due to an unprecedented drought in the region, undermining the future survival of the park and its species, experts say.
The approval of the law to parliamentary review has faced heavy backlash from Spain´s central government, with Sánchez bringing the case to the Constitutional Court and assuring that “Doñana will not be touched”, El País reports.
The Socialists and Democrats group at the European Parliament (S&D) have also expressed their concerns over the law and will organise a parliamentary visit to Doñana “so that MEPs can see the reality of what is happening”, S&D President Iratxe García announced on Thursday.
The visit will occur “as soon as possible” and “will be comprised of different political groups and nationalities”, a source from S&D highlighted.
S&D also confirmed it would push for emergency meetings with EU´s climate chief Frans Timmermans and Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius to discuss the topic.
From their side, ECR´s Vox qualifies the move as ¨a propaganda operation ahead of the Spanish regional elections in May” and opposes the involvement of the European Parliament as an institution in this “type of operation”, but they would “surely” attend the visit if it takes place, a spokesperson told EURACTIV.
The spokesperson also called out the socialists for using Doñana to deviate attention from the “disaster” with the water supplies, which “themselves are responsible for” by destroying water dams.
The EPP did not respond to a request for comment.
The Commission´s stance
In 2019, the Commission brought Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for lacking to protect Doñana’s natural reserve and breaching EU law due to the country’s failure to follow the obligations imposed by the directives on water protection and natural habitats, El País reports.
After the CJEU ruled against Spain in 2021, the Commission sent in July 2022 a letter of formal notice after Spain failed to implement the CJEU´s ruling and establish protection measures for Doñana.
The Commission is now reviewing the information sent by Spain in response to the formal notice, and “if necessary, the European Commission will have the possibility to adopt further measures to ensure that Spain complies with the Court of Justice ruling on Doñana”, Commission Spokesperson Tim McPhie said during a press conference on Thursday.
If Spain continues failing to protect Doñana, the Commission would have the possibility of imposing economic sanctions.
In this context, representatives from Andalucía’s regional government will meet with the cabinet of Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius on May 3, EuroEFE reports.
Source: euractiv.com
