proTEJO accuses Brussels of 'manifest error' in Tejo River case, demands reopening

The proTEJO movement is escalating its fight against what it calls a "manifest error of assessment" by the European Commission regarding the ecological flows of the Tejo River. The environmental group has formally contested the European Ombudsman's decision to reject an inquiry into the commission's dismissal of their complaint.

In letters sent to the European Ombudsman's office and the European Commissioner for Environment, proTEJO argues that Brussels wrongly closed their 2024 complaint. They point to a May 13 letter from the Commission's Directorate-General for Environment, which admitted that the inadequate definition of ecological flows "predictably leads to non-compliance" with European environmental objectives. proTEJO sees this as a direct contradiction to the commission's earlier decision to close the case.

Paulo Constantino, spokesperson for proTEJO, stated their goal is to "maintain pressure on the commission and continue to try to bring the case to court." The movement refutes the Ombudsman's claim that biodiversity damage could not be assessed, providing evidence that issues related to the Birds and Habitats Directives were explicitly included in their original complaint. They allege the commission ignored these details when archiving the case in March.

proTEJO has detailed the ecological impacts stemming from the lack of ecological flows at the Cedillo dam, on the Iberian border, regulated by the 1998 Albufeira Convention. These include the deterioration of the Monte Fidalgo reservoir's ecological potential from "Reasonable" to "Poor," and the Fratel reservoir's chemical status dropping to "Insufficient" due to excess phosphorus and phytoplankton. They also noted successive episodes of toxic cyanobacteria pollution between 2016 and 2023, and the emptying of Monte Fidalgo in 2018 and 2019, which left the Pônsul and Sever rivers dry for two months, harming the Tejo International Natural Park. Scientific data attached by proTEJO indicates that 60% of native fish species in the Tejo basin are threatened, with the sea lamprey nearly disappearing from the river in 2023.

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manter a pressão sobre a comissão e continuar a tentar levar o caso a tribunal