German MPs scrap Spanish strawberry fields visit as election water wars heat up

FILE PHOTO: Dried strawberry plants are pictured near the Donana National Park, in Almonte, Spain April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

MADRID (Reuters) - A delegation of German lawmakers on Monday scrapped a trip to assess the sustainability of strawberry production near Spain's endangered Donana wetlands as a war of words between Spain's ruling socialists and the opposition over water scarcity escalated ahead of a snap election next month.

The cross-party German parliamentary environment committee arrived in Madrid to meet environment ministry officials on Monday. They were then due to travel south to Andalusia to meet farming groups, environmental activists and local officials.