The expansion of the El Prat airport cracks the unity of action of the parties

A passenger in terminal T1 of Barcelona's El Prat airport.Gianluca Battista

The open debate around the extension of the Barcelona airport has led to the appearance of an avalanche of opinion-makers, both in favor and against the project that Aena is defending. The two sides repeat a profusion of arguments and technical reports to cancel each other out. In the midst of this crossfire, the ambiguity and lukewarmness only arouse suspicions and criticisms, such as those received by

President

Pere Aragonès for taking profile in a matter that has an investment of 1,700 million euros in the air and the possible affectation of a protected natural area with the Red Natura 2000 seal.

One of the effects of the heated airport debate has been the fracture of the unity of the political parties.

The issue has become a territorial issue and has disrupted the usual unconditional adherence to the guidelines set by each formation.

Last Tuesday, the plenary session of the Castelldefels City Council, governed by the PSC, unanimously voted a statement that warned of the risks involved in conditioning the airport to cover more traffic.

PSC, Junts, Esquerra, Ciudadanos, Comunes and PP reached an agreement to approve a document that, although it focused on requiring the establishment by law of "the current system of segregated tracks", also spoke about the threat it poses to biodiversity delta del Llobregat squeeze more to the airport.

More information

• The Generalitat undertakes not to "block" the expansion of the Barcelona airport

• "The lagoon of La Ricarda is irreplaceable"

• Aena plans to offset the La Ricarda area affected by the expansion outside the delta

The day before, it had been Sant Feliu de Llobregat who specified his position on the subject.

The City Council voted on the

Preserve the Delta

motion

.

No to the expansion of the airport.

It was supported by the commons and Esquerra, partners in the government, and a list linked to Junts.

The PSC, Citizens and a list of independents spoke against it.

In El Prat, for months all the parties with representation in the plenary session have unanimously supported an institutional declaration refusing to widen the airport because it would imply "a natural disaster." Comunes, PSC, Esquerra, Ciudadanos and Podemos voted en bloc in favor of a text that advocates finding an alternative to Aena's proposal and "turning Girona into the fourth runway at El Prat airport".

The Parliament has also ruled on the same issue.

It was in the Territory Commission where a resolution was discussed that urged the Ministry of Public Works not to process an expansion of the airport that could cause "an unlimited increase" in air traffic and where the environmental impact on the Llobregat delta was referred to.

In July of last year, all the parties voted in favor of the draft, except the Citizens group.

Marc Sanglas, spokesman for ERC in the commission, defended the need to ensure “sustainable” growth, Junts, through Eduard Pujol, demanded “not to do nonsense” and the socialist Jordi Terrades defended “require Aena that any development project is based on respect for the natural environment and biodiversity ”.

Aena has made a move to win allies and has joined the economic and business entities in its favor

Over the months, the social upheaval has grown and the issue has taken on a thorny turn.

Aena has made a move to win allies and has joined the economic and business entities in its favor, which even organized a public event in Esade to "demand that the opportunity not be missed" represented by the expansion.

Affirmations and rectifications have happened.

The PSC has become a defender of widening El Prat.

Salvador Illa, socialist leader in the Parliament, defends that the economic relevance of Aena's proposal "cannot be ignored" as it is an engine for generating wealth in Catalonia.

He has ensured that the jobs that the expansion would create are "15 times" those that are at risk with the closure of the Nissan production plant in Barcelona.

The PSC's municipal policy secretary, Jaume Collboni, positions himself in favor of the work as a “symbol and reference of the connectivity of the Barcelona metropolitan area and of economic progress”.

Division in Barcelona

The PSC broke the government unit in the Barcelona city council when Ada Colau's team tried to show its rejection of the airport expansion.

"Due to the economic impact, the weight in the airport's GDP, employment, it is at stake to make a great hub with an investment of 1,700 million euros," justified the socialist Laia Bonet.

Meanwhile, the PSC federation in Baix Llobregat published last month a “decalogue of measures to fight the climate emergency and accelerate the ecological transition”.

The declaration, addressed to the town councils of the region, advocates promoting actions to respect biodiversity and the protection of the environment.

Puigneró, the most visible face of the Government in the controversy

The vice-president Jordi Puigneró, from Junts, has become the most visible face of the Government in the management of the airport. Puigneró, unlike his predecessors in the Ministry of Territory, Damià Calvet and Josep Rull, has spoken out in favor of Aena's action plan, claiming that Catalonia "cannot afford not to have a 21st century airport".

Meanwhile, the Junts per Catalunya groups in Prat de Llobregat, Gavà, Viladecans and Castelldefels refuse to expand the runways at Josep Tarradellas airport.

In a ceremony held last week to reinforce the position of rejection of the Aena project, the mayor of El Prat, Lluís Mijoler, announced that the municipality is not alone in its opposition to Aena. Mijoler, from El Prat en Comú, cited alleged allies such as "the Parliament, the Barcelona City Council and the Viladecans".

The fact is that Viladecans, Gavà and Sant Boi, the three governed by the PSC, have formed a joint working table to find a consensus that allows the airport to be expanded. They work with the Baix Llobregat Business Association, the Agricultural Institute and the agricultural cooperatives of Viladecans and Gavà to "be a valid and competent interlocutor to manage this unique opportunity to implement the expansion of the airport".