Skopje, 14 July 2023 (MIA) – I understand the concern of the citizens. If I could voice my personal position, I am also against new mines in the country. I believe that this is an agricultural region where agriculture should be developed, said Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Kaja Shukova, on Friday.

Commenting on reactions of the citizens of Strumica regarding the opening of new mines in the region, Shukova added that in the past, the Government has been fully focused on the development of agriculture and assessed that this should remain a priority in the future as well.

“It is true that the Government adopted a decision to merge the concessions. They were two already issued concessions and with the merging there was no expansion of the scope of the concession. I believe that this is an agricultural region where agriculture should be developed. The state has been doing this intensively and has supported farmers in the past years as well. You are aware that we have a 100 percent successfully implemented IPARD program in the country, and we are already beginning the third cycle. I believe that this should be our priority. This is my personal position,” said Shukova.

The Environment Minister said she would attend Saturday’s protest in Strumica against the mines, in order to hear the citizens. 

“I will be in Strumica tomorrow. I want to hear the citizens. We want to be a part of this process. The Government in coordination with the Prime Minister and the other ministers will once again review the decision to merge the two concessions, even though, I will once again say, that in principle, this does not mean an increase in the scope of the concession, just an administrative merging of the two concessions. We are a small country and I think agriculture should really be our priority, and we should be very careful when issuing licenses for industrial exploitation, to heavily polluting industry,” said the Minister.

Asked about the reactions over environmental studies which are not publicly revealed, Shukova noted that no request has been submitted to the Ministry over an assessment of the impact of the mines on the environment.

“If we get to that stage, what I can say is that we will approach the study very seriously based on the process that will be proposed for the possible mining in the region. In the meantime, we’ve had consultations with professors who work in this field so we can have basic information. This is a heavily polluting industry and I think that everyone who is involved, as well as the Government, should be very careful with this process,” said Shukova.

Photo: MIA