The Government claimed there would be no concession for new mines in the Strumitsa region. Yet, it almost immediately allowed a company owned by the Destani family, one of DUI’s most prominent sponsors, to buy stocks in Euromax Resources, the owner of an already nullified concession for the Ilovitsa-Shtuka copper and gold mine, VMRO-DPMNE stressed in a statement issued on Sunday.

“Destani family bought stocks in a company that has lost its concession for extraction in Ilovitsa after the Administrative Court nullified the one issued in 2012. Days following the Destani family entrance, the company won back the disputed concession by a revised decision of the Administrative Court. Based on the Court’s decision, the Government merged the two regional concessions for copper extraction (Ilovitsa-Shtuka). It issued all the necessary permits, although Destani’s company Ecolog didn’t meet any of the necessary criteria”, VMRO-DPMNE states.

Therefore, VMRO-DPMNE demands answers from the Government on the following questions: Did Ecolog submit any environmental protection study? What impact will the extraction have on the environment? How can a company with no experience in mining guarantee that the soil won’t be contaminated?

“People are right to be concerned since an accident in the mine would contaminate the soil from Strumitsa to Thessaloniki in Greece,” the party reminds.