The Valencian Community, Murcia, and Andalusia demand a meeting with the Government over new Tajo-Segura rules

The Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, and Andalusia have urgently requested a meeting with the central Government, demanding full transparency regarding the modification of the exploitation rules of the Tajo-Segura transfer, without dialogue or consensus with the affected autonomous communities. This was announced on Thursday by the Minister of Agriculture, Miguel Barrachina, after visiting the Campus of the Miguel Hernández University in Orihuela.

Barrachina emphasized that it is a "unilateral decision, lacking technical justification" and denounced the breakdown of institutional dialogue on such a delicate issue as water management: "The Government has chosen to impose rather than agree, disregarding any path of consensus or balanced solution. It is an irresponsible attitude whose consequences we will all pay for."

"The autonomous communities involved have not been consulted, nor have we been provided with the technical study that supposedly supports their decision. This is a violation of transparency and institutional respect," stated the Minister.

Barrachina, along with the ministers of Murcia and Andalusia, Sara Rubira and Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, has formally requested an urgent meeting with the Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen. They also seek to meet with the top officials of the Centre for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (Cedex) to access the full technical report and all documentation used in drafting this review of the exploitation rule.

"The Segura basin critically depends on the transfer. This change, without alternatives or compensatory measures, creates uncertainty and jeopardizes the future of thousands of farmers, irrigators, businesses, and families," remarked the Minister.

"The Ministry has turned hydrological planning into a political tool that, far from solving problems, creates them. We demand technical rigor, water solidarity, and common sense," affirmed Barrachina.

The three autonomous communities insist that the current model of the Tajo-Segura transfer "has been a key tool for territorial cohesion and economic development for decades." Therefore, they believe, "any modification must be carried out with responsibility, consensus, and scientific basis." Barrachina pointed out that farmers "do not need more uncertainty or arbitrary decisions, but stability and planning."