Spain’s populist right-wing party VOX has presented a bill to stop the advance of solar power panels at the expense of olive groves.
On June 10, party members claimed that due to governmental financial incentives and under the guise of Spain’s “energetic transition”, olive groves were being destroyed to make way for solar panels in rural areas.
In southern Spain, more than half a million olive trees have been felled, including traditional groves with trees around 100 years old in order to install huge solar panel parks in some of Spain’s most fertile areas.
VOX claimed they brought no benefit to farmers, entire rural communities were left deserted and the process was carried out without planning or environmental studies.
In addition, it accused both Spain’s left-wing Socialist Party (S&D) and centre-right party Partido Popular (EPP) of colluding to push the “green” agenda.
VOX’s bill, to be discussed in Congress, aimed to tighten regulations for solar parks and reverse the expansion of already built solar panel complexes.
Spanish columnist and political scientist Sergio Velasco echoed VOX’s arguments, claiming: “The two-party system (PP-PSOE) has a clear agenda imposed by Brussels.” He said that was ” yet another attack on food sovereignty”.
“They have already attacked the Netherlands and Spain is next,” he said.
That was made worse, he added, because “the EU signs free trade agreements with third countries that do not have the same regulations, taxes, or health conditions”.
“That is not a free market,” Velasco concluded.
