Walter Finch
THE European Union has ruled that Gibraltar’s controversial marina development is legally sound, according to developers TNG.
The EU’s Directorate General for the Environment has reportedly declared that it has found ‘no violations of EU environmental legislation have been identified.’
TNG claims the decision is based upon a report issued by Brussels after receiving complaints from Spanish authorities and listening to the Gibraltar government’s case.
The news will come as a blow to opponents of the project in Spain, who have attempted to torpedo it on environmental grounds.
The report found that limpets were the only protected species in the construction zone, which have now been moved to a new location by a private company.
But activists at Ecologistas en Accion were quick to downplay the significance of the report.
“This is an old report from 2009 and isn’t valid anymore,” a spokesperson told the Olive Press.
The Spanish government has remained silent on denuncias filed by the environmental group regarding the development.
“Land continues to be gained from the sea with the Eastside project, and the silence of the Junta de Andalucía and the Government of Spain is quite suspicious,” the group wrote in a statement.
“We have been waiting for a reply from [Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel] Albares for more than a month, and the wait is becoming quite long for us.”
Gibraltar has imported almost 50,000 tons of rock dug up from quarries in Spain, according to the group, which they claim is damaging protected habitats and archeological sites.
