European People’s Party chief Manfred Weber on Wednesday condemned Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius and EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans for putting pressure on Madrid over contentious plans to increase irrigation near Spain’s UNESCO-protected Doñana wetlands.
“I want to express that we are extremely surprised about the behavior of the Commission,” the conservative German MEP told reporters, describing it as “unacceptable.”
He accused Timmermans of playing “party politics” and “doing campaigning for” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a fellow Socialist.
Last month, the Commission threatened to impose financial sanctions on Madrid if the region of Andalusia allowed farmers to pump more water for irrigation from the Doñana wetlands. Farmers have been illegally extracting water from the protected wetland, home to critically endangered species like the Spanish imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.
Sinkevičius said last week that Brussels has “deep” concerns about the wetland plans.
The EU’s top court in 2021 ruled that Spain failed to implement “a sustainable management of the groundwater bodies” that feed the wetlands, and, as a follow-up, the Commission last year sent a letter of formal notice to Madrid warning that it wasn’t doing enough to comply with that ruling.
Despite Brussels’ warning, earlier this month Andalusian lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a plan to increase irrigation in areas around Doñana, which could enter into force in August.
The Commission warned if that happens, it would constitute “a flagrant violation of the provisions of the judgment of the Court of Justice.”
The issue has blown up into a political fight, with conservative Spanish politicians denouncing the Commission’s threat. Weber, leader of the center-right EPP in the European Parliament, joined in, blasting the Commission for not being a “fair deal maker” or a “neutral institution” in implementing the court ruling.
Wednesday’s press conference followed a meeting earlier that day between Sinkevičius, Timmermans and Iratxe García, a Spanish MEP who leads the Socialists & Democrats, who has warned the Andalusian regional government’s plans risk causing “irreversible damage to these ecosystems.”
Sinkevičius responded on social media, tweeting: “Doñana is important for Spain & the EU,” adding he recently met with Weber and with Spanish politicians and government officials “to listen to all parties.” He said that the Commission “acts as impartial guardian of the Treaty” and that implementing the CJEU’s rulings is a “priority.”
The fight puts Sánchez’s left-wing government in a difficult position; it is under pressure to help farmers facing drier summers while also complying with its obligations to protect the wetlands.
Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said last week that “the concern has not changed and that the best thing that we should be investing in is to reduce the existing risk over Doñana and not to add any new risks to this space.”
