The Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, has made it clear that they will not punish the incinerator of Zubieta, Ekondakin, despite the fact that the CAV lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, recently stated that the Basque Government was prepared to "talk" with representatives of the Government of Navarre about the thousands of tonnes.

The counsellor replied in writing to a question by the MEP, Álvaro Gotxi, in a document dated Monday: "This institution, once the information submitted has been analyzed, considers that there is no infringement in terms of waste generation," he says. In any case, he replied that they remain prepared to talk to the Government of Navarra "to clarify any issue or to provide more information" about the situation.

Between 2022 and 2023 thousands of tonnes of Zubieta leachate were taken to Artajona, but another LER code was put in place, as if it were sludges, although they were not authorised for this purpose. A court in Donostia-San Sebastián opened a criminal procedure to investigate possible cases of illegality, among which it stands out that it was investigated by the president of the Waste Consortium of Gipuzkoa and MEP of Gipuzkoa, José Igancio Asensio.

The Government of Navarre has sanctioned the company Ecofert, which manages the Artajona landfill, and has asked the Basque Government to do the same with Ekondakin in June.

Although Pradales' recent words showed that they were willing to do such a thing, he said the matter was "technically slippery" and "complex", Jauregi made it clear in his writing that the new executive has the same view as those in charge of the previous government.

The former Environment Minister, Arantxa Tapia, and the former lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, have never recognised that there have been irregularities in the management of this waste. The Basque Government is therefore not going to open a dossier punishing Ekondakini.