The Diplomat
A delegation from the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will travel to Spain from February 23-25 to investigate on the ground the environmental degradation of the Mar Menor natural area in Murcia.
The delegation will be chaired by MEP Tatjana Zdanoka (The Greens, Latvia) and composed of MEPs Loránt Vincze (EPP, Romania), Alex Agius Saliba (S&D, Malta), Michal Wiezik (Renew, Slovakia), Kosma Złotowski (ECR, Poland) and Alexis Georgoulis (The Left, Greece). They will be accompanied by Spanish MEPs Dolors Montserrat (EPP), Marcos Ros Sempere (S&D), María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew), Jorge Buxadé (ECR) and Sira Rego (The Left).
The visit will begin on February 23 with a meeting with the petitioners, including citizens, environmentalists and political representatives, among others. Subsequently, the delegation will meet with the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, and other regional authorities. At the end of the meeting, the head of the delegation will make statements to the press.
The delegation will then meet with the mayors of Cartagena, Los Alcazares, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, La Unión and Torre Pacheco and will hold a meeting with the competent Spanish authorities, including the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Moran, the delegate of the Government in the Region of Murcia, José Vélez, and the president of the Commonwealth of Taibilla Canals, Francisca Baraza, among others.
On Thursday, the MEPs will visit the affected areas of the Mar Menor: El Albujón, Salinas de Marchamalo, Los Urrutias, Santiago de la Ribera, the Regional Park of Salinas de San Pedro and Saladar Lo Poyo. In the afternoon, they will meet with scientists from the University of Murcia and will hold a meeting with social organizations in the area, such as the Banderas Negras collective, Por un Mar Menor Vivo or the SOS Mar Menor Collective. The day will conclude with a meeting with businessmen and trade unions.
On the morning of the 25th, the delegation will receive the spokespersons of all the parliamentary groups of the Regional Assembly: Francisco Lucas (PSOE), Joaquín Segado (PP), Francisco Alvarez García (Ciudadanos), Juan José Liarte (Vox) and María Martín (Mixed Group, Podemos). Subsequently, the MEPs will hold another meeting with experts to address the concluding remarks of the visit.
