Friends of the Earth, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, SEO/BirdLife and WWF have joined in a statement to criticize the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which has granted a positive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to the surveys planned by Repsol in waters of the Canary archipelago.
"It is shocking that this unpopular decision is made right now, after the elections to the European Parliament," the NGOs argue. In addition, they add that "it is even more unjustifiable that the next ruling of the Supreme Court has not been awaited, which was expected to rule on the appeal filed by the Canary administrations in less than two weeks.
Specifically, the Third Chamber of the administrative court of the Supreme Court had set for June 10 the vote and ruling on the seven appeals filed by Canary Public Administrations, as well as environmental organizations and social movements, against the authorizations of the Government of Spain to the multinationals Repsol, RWE and Woodside to carry out oil drilling off the coasts of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.
"A way to pressure the Supreme Court"
The environmental organizations also denounce that the Environmental Impact Study "has been full of irregularities and that it had not even been concluded, since there were documents that were still subject to public information." That is why they denounce that "the rush to get the DIA out now may be a way to pressure the Supreme Court on the meaning of its decision."
On the other hand, they emphasize that "the rush to approve these surveys contrasts strikingly with the delay suffered by the declaration of the Natura 2000 Network area that borders the land to be prospected, which has been manifestly delayed in its processing despite its great environmental values, while the rest of the marine areas were approved."
It is also "obvious", in the opinion of these groups, "that this ministerial decision is taken against the majority of the population of the Canary Islands, which has been forceful and clear in its firm opposition to these exploitations that, far from bringing them benefits, will be a stigma and a sword of Damocles on their main economic activity, tourism."
Thus, in addition to showing their "outright rejection" of this environmental impact statement, environmental organizations state that they "will try to prevent the surveys from being carried out by all possible legal means, appealing to all European and state authorities."
