Overview
- The Supreme Court dismissed Murcia’s appeal and confirmed the 2023 royal decree that raises ecological-flow requirements in the Tajo basin.
- The judgment reiterates that ecological flow is a binding operating condition for the system, with only urban supply taking priority.
- The plan maintains a three-step timetable that reaches the fully ecological threshold in 2027, with interim steps used for coordination as alternative resources develop.
- Madrid had paused changes to the Tajo-Segura exploitation rules pending the case, and Castilla-La Mancha is pressing the ministry to apply the ruling without delay.
- Riparian municipalities welcomed the decision, urging PP and Vox to accept the court’s resolutions and highlighting the legal certainty and clear calendar the ruling provides.