Press Release: Ombudsman to investigate Commission’s role in development of industrial harbour in Tenerife, Spain

The European Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, on 14 February 2006 decided to open an inquiry into whether the European Commission had acted within its legal authority by not pursuing the Spanish authorities for their decision to authorise the development of an industrial harbour in Granadilla, on the island of Tenerife (Spain). According to the complainants, the Commission, arguing that there were no alternatives, had concluded that the Spanish authorities did not violate EU law, notwithstanding the negative environmental impact of the project.