The Government is not willing to talk or negotiate with the Junta de Andalucía until it withdraws the bill that expands irrigation in the north of the Doñana Park. There is deep anger and discomfort in the Executive with the Andalusian Government and the position is to be firm. Government sources recall that there is a condemnatory sentence of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), which obliges to protect the Doñana wetland, and that, even, the declaration of this wetland as World Heritage by Unesco may be at stake .
“We are not going to negotiate illegalities”, has settled the third vice president of the Government, Teresa Ribera. “[Juanma] Moreno Bonilla was aware of this illegality. The Secretary of State told his adviser that it was unfeasible. And we found this bill outside of the conviction.” “There is nothing to negotiate”, they repeat within the Executive.
The shock is high. In the Government there is no will to grant a minimum margin to the Board or the PP with this matter. There is concern about the consequences that it may have for Spain from Brussels, but also about the “reputational damage” that this controversy is having at the international level. “Today it already enters the Financial Times,” lament government sources.
They reproach from Ecological Transition that the Junta de Andalucía did not present allegations to the Hydrological Plan of the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Demarcation. “When they could talk they didn’t,” they reproach. “The only thing we have had is this bill. As soon as it is expressly ruled out, so that there are no doubts, we will be delighted to work with them. As soon as this illegality is withdrawn, we will have no problem,” said Vice President Ribera .
The Junta de Andalucía has admitted that it is open to modifying the bill, but, for now, has not said anything about its possible withdrawal. In the Government they consider that they could maintain this pulse until after the municipal and regional elections of 28-M. But they understand that the PP, that Moreno Bonilla, has made a “calculation error” and that it has allowed itself to be “dragged by Vox”. Doñana is a “symbol” and in the Andalusian government, you understand, they did not calibrate the repercussion that there would be.
From Ecological Transition they expose that in recent years there has been a great growth of intensive agriculture on the periphery of this space and the irrigation associated with this activity is producing a drop in the water table. This, added to the droughts that are occurring more and more frequently, have caused the deterioration of a National Park of which Vice President Ribera has highlighted that it is the “only Spanish natural space that has all the protection figures at the international level , including the Declaration of World Heritage by Unesco in 1994”.
The drought, in any case, is an issue that overwhelms Doñana and affects the entire country. In the Government there is concern because the forecast is that the situation will not improve, or not improve enough, in the coming months. That is why the Ministry of Agriculture has been promoting in recent weeks measures aimed at alleviating the situation in the primary sector.
This Tuesday, the BOE publishes the order of modules with a minimum reduction of 25% in the IRPF 2022 for 800,000 farmers and ranchers. This is a linear reduction that takes into account the drought and the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine. It also includes a reduction of between 30% and 50% for all livestock sectors and those of cereals, legumes, oilseeds, olive groves, apricots, peach, nectarines, almonds and chestnuts.
A reduction in net income of 35% is also established for the purchase of agricultural diesel, and 15% for the purchase of fertilizers.
Dialogue and negotiation with Brussels is added to the internal measures. From Agriculture, the European Commission has been asked to activate the crisis reserve of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the face of the “exceptional” situation of drought. The minister of the branch, Luis Planas, has explained that it is about budgetary support, about money and that although these issues are usually slow to process, he hopes that the Commission can resolve the matter promptly.
“We understand that there is an exceptional circumstance. I expect a prompt reaction from the European Commission, although I know that decisions take time, but it is perfectly justified by the exceptionality of the situation,” Planas explained. This reserve has an amount of 450 million euros to be distributed among all countries. Some have already requested it and Spain hopes and trusts that Portugal can join this request and, as happened with the gas cap, the Iberian Peninsula can exert force. It is a matter that is already being worked on between the two countries.
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