Izquierda Unida will raise questions on the matter with the European Commission next week
Izquierda Unida will raise the issue of a planned open-pit mine northeast of Segovia before the European Parliament. The announcement was made by IU MP Manu Pineda, who held a meeting in Segovia on Wednesday with representatives of the Citizen Platform that opposes this large-scale mining project, accompanied by the provincial deputy Ana Peñalosa and IU spokesman Angel Galindo at Capital City Hall.
Pineda said he would submit written questions in the coming days and would be obliged to respond to the European Commission. “If the project is not stopped, we will work hard to organize meetings between platform colleagues and the Commission itself so that they can send you all the reports that will support without doubt the justice of the demands they have made”, he noted.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection stressed the need to prevent the prosperity of a project that would destroy the entire region and its ecosystem and affect the region’s major sectors such as agriculture, extensive livestock farming and tourism. “It is impossible for public institutions to give speeches about the importance of caring for the environment and helping depopulated Spain so that later in exchange for four dollars they would be willing to let the lives of people in the northeast be destroyed.” Segovia, in order to extract cheaper quartz, “He said.
Spokesperson against the open-pit mining platform Marisa Moro thanked IU Segovia and Manu Pineda for their support, to whom they have forwarded reports and documents on this macro project that will affect Sepulveda, Barbora, Sotillo , towns such as Castillejo de Mesleón, Cerezo de Arriba, Cerezo de Abajo and Duruelo, as well as the Duratón river, which is part of the Natura network. Under the platform, it will cover 2,720 hectares, of which 1,658 hectares will be developed, with a concession term of 30 years, which can be extended.
“All institutions must understand this problem and make them aware of the possible destruction of our ecosystems and way of life,” Moro said. “We are a small region of Segovia, a small part of an empty Spain. Regions, but any region, no matter how small its population, has the right to defend its future and decide what to do with its territory. “This type of mining destroys everything we seek and everything we defend. ” The spokesman also said the mine’s economic and employment impact on the affected towns would be minimal.
Deputy Ana Peñalosa reiterated IU Segovia’s full support for the platform’s demands. “There are ample reasons to oppose the mine. The flora, fauna, infrastructure and, very importantly, people’s health are at risk,” he declared. Regarding the last aspect, the platform recalls that silica dust from quartz mining may cause respiratory-related diseases such as silicosis, chronic bronchitis or lung cancer.
Manu Pineda also plans to hold a meeting with the Izquierda Unida council this Thursday in Cuéllar to discuss various issues related to the municipality and the possible arrival of European funds.