Call for action over toxic spill

Date: 08/10/1998

By Renée Cordes

INTERNATIONAL environmental groups are urging the European Commission to withhold additional regional funding from Spain until national and regional authorities coordinate a toxic spill clean-up.

The World Wide Fund for Nature and the UK arm of BirdLife International are asking the Commission not to provide further financial assistance until it is satisfied with the work.

The Commission, which approved 100-million-ecu worth of aid long before the spill, has suggested that some of the money be used for the clean-up work. It has requested a joint proposal from Spanish and regional authorities on what portion of the funds they will use for restoration.

The dispute centres on a toxic spill from a mine near Seville into the Cota Doñana nature reserve in April.

Commission officials say they have found “no major problem” in the clean-up, but are monitoring the situation.

However, environmental groups claim the clean-up has been hampered by the failure of different authorities in Spain to cooperate, and are asking the EU to help them find common ground.

“The fundamental problem is a lack of coordination,” said Jane Madgwick of the World Wide Fund for Nature.