The Government will meet with Andalusia when it "expressly" discards the irrigation regulation in Doñana: "We are waiting"

The third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, has indicated that as soon as the proposed irrigation law being processed by the Andalusian Parliament is withdrawn, the Government will be "delighted" to be able to work with the Junta de Andalucía on the environment of Donana. "We are waiting," she emphasized.

"As soon as we have a legal framework that is compatible with European law, we can talk about whatever we want, but we are not going to negotiate illegalities. President Moreno Bonilla was perfectly aware of the illegality of this situation. He did not make any allegations against the Guadalquivir hydrological plan , which is where the volumes of surface water that could come from the Tinto, Odiel, Piedras and from the Guadiamar and the Agrio are established to satisfy the need to reduce the pressure of irrigation and legal consumption", he has ruled.

In this sense, it has stressed that in the face of any allegation, the Government found this bill registered "regardless of any requirement or any compatibility with the conviction of the Kingdom of Spain." In addition, she has assured that she herself had spoken "on several occasions" about this situation with the president of Andalusia and that the Secretary of State for the Environment had also alerted the corresponding counselor that it was "unfeasible".

Executive sources have added after the press conference that there has been a dialogue with the Junta de Andalucía for all the cuaces and that letters have even been sent.

"As soon as this proposal is withdrawn, which is causing so much damage to the image of Spain and its farmers (...) we will not have any problem. Furthermore, I think it is important to do so because I believe that the increasingly recurring situation of drought, The fragility of the space whose custody corresponds to the Board, the sensitivity of the nearby local communities and the need to diversify economic activity in the area of ​​influence of the park, make collaboration between the different administrations essential", insisted Ribera.

In this sense, he stressed that when the Government presented the framework of actions for Doñana, the Junta de Andalucía expressed its willingness to contribute to this framework of actions in the exercise of its own powers. "As soon as this proposition is ruled out, expressly ruled out so that there is not the slightest doubt with respect to the European Commission, with respect to UNESCO and with respect to the whole of Spanish public opinion, we will be delighted to be able to work with them" , has said.

On the other hand, he has described as "worrying" that public officials, in reference to the Board, suggest that the Government has pressured the European Commission in its response. "It seems unbelievable that after repeated warnings from the European institutions, they can still say something like that, that they do not understand, that they contaminate, as if the European Commission or the Court of Justice of the European Union were manipulable," he lamented, asking that get to work to comply with the European judgment because there is still "much to do".

"They continue fooling around with something that can cost us Spaniards a lot of money in exchange for nothing," he stressed, while warning that if Spain is convicted and periodic penalty payments are imposed, those fines will remain until they are no longer enforced. law enforcement.

He has also asked not to get carried away by "deniers or populists" who with a "high dose of demagogy and always coinciding with electoral appointments" are willing to make interested use of the legislative initiative of the PP and Vox parliamentary groups in the Andalusian Parliament .

Ribera has pointed out that this Tuesday, April 25, marks the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Boliden mining raft in Andalusia, a fact that he has described as "traumatic" for the communities close to the Doñana space but also for all Spaniards. ".

"We know that Doñana is an emblematic space. It is the only Spanish natural space that has all the protection figures at the international level, including the Declaration of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994," he added.

It has also indicated that in these 25 years there has been an increase in population settlements around Doñana and intensive agriculture in the periphery that demands water consumption.

The minister recalled that the Court of Justice of the EU condemned Spain for not including this provision in the 2015 Guadalquivir Hydrological Plan, due to the risk of non-compliance with the good condition of the habitats protected by the habitats directive in the park space national.

Ribera has also pointed out that since they came to the Government in 2018, more than 200 illegal wells have been closed and almost 500 legal wells have been voluntarily closed thanks to the increase in the surface area. "The calendar of works and investments allows closing all the extractions in 2025 and guaranteeing the coverage of the supply rights of the irrigation nuclei with surface water from Tinto, Odiel, Piedras, Guardiamar and Agrio", he added.

"TOTAL" COMMITMENT TO DOÑANA

Thus, he has ensured that "the Government's commitment to Doñana is total" and has emphasized that the bill is "incompatible" with the Doñana Recovery Plan and has generated "concern and rejection" beyond Spanish borders , "endangering the maintenance of the park as a world heritage site or the support of the European Commission for the execution plan of that condemnatory sentence".

"From the Government we consider essential the involvement of all Administrations, in the responsible exercise of our powers", he stressed.