Catalan Government closes ranks over airport and warns it will not accept "destruction" of La Ricarda

The Catalan Government has used its working day this Saturday in the Vall d'en Bas to try to close ranks around the debate on the El Prat airport. In an appearance after the meeting, the spokeswoman, Patrícia Plaja, has tried to unify the voices inside the executive and has assured that the Government will not accept any proposal that "destroys" the lagoon of La Ricarda. Plaja said that it was a united message from the entire Government and that "there is consensus" when it comes to rejecting any proposal that the expansion of the airport affect this natural area.

The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, thus manages to show the support of the Government for his position made public this Friday, when he publicly rejected the airport regulation document (DORA) that was leaked yesterday and which explicitly states that the works will affect the protected natural areas of the Llobregat delta. The text confirms that the extension of the airfield, and specifically of the runway closest to the sea, "would affect areas of the Natura 2000 network". For this reason, the airport manager already assumes that land will have to be purchased nearby to compensate for the destruction of an area of high ecological value.

This reaction surprised Aena, which ensures that the DORA draft says nothing new about the pact accepted by the same government.

CUP warns

This same Saturday, CUP MP Eulàlia Reguant considered the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the vicepresident Jordi Puigneró, should appear "urgently" in Parliament to explain "what agreement they have reached with the State for the expansion of El Prat and if it affects La Ricarda". During the V Summer School of the CUP that takes place this weekend in Granollers, Reguant has said that "with actions like the airport, the Circuit de Catalunya or the Olympic Winter Games" the Government has found itself comfortable in "sociovergència", and has moved away from the investiture agreement and the possibility of having their support to approve the budgets.

Beyond the airport, the Catalan Government has announced it is studying if it can adopt legal measures to fight against the "shameful" escalation of the electricity prices.