The delegation of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions visited sites in the area affected by the environmental crisis in the Mar Menor on Thursday. The expedition was not without controversy. The agenda was changed at the request of environmental organisations. Finally the MEPs visited the beach of Los Urrutias. But the discussion of the day came from the VOX MEP, Jorge Buxadé and the director of Anse, Pedro García.
The first stop on the European delegation’s visit, which lasted only a few minutes, was the Salinas de Marchamalo. In front of the MEPs, Pedro García, director of ANSE, pointed to the site as an example of environmental degradation and neglect by the regional administration despite the fact that it has several international protection statuses.
The MEPs also took a panoramic view of the agricultural area of the Mar Menor and the beaches of Los Alemanes and Los Urrutias, the latter of which was not included in the planning drawn up by the Commission, but which environmental organisations have asked to visit as they consider it a key point for understanding the deterioration of the salt lagoon. Isabel Rubio, from Pacto por el Mar Menor, regretted that the beaches had been cleaned because of the MEPs’ visit.
During the stop at the mouth of the Albujón wadi, to see first hand how the nitrate-laden water enters the Mar Menor, the residents of the Bahía Bella urbanisation handed the chair of the committee, Latvian Green MEP Tatiana Zdanoka, a dossier showing their complaints about the poor state of the area.