A Finnish mining company has started work on a limestone mine on the Swedish island of Gotland, putting a sensitive and protected natural environment under threat. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvardsverket) is appealing in court, but while they wait the company is going ahead with work on the mine -- and only pressure on the EU Environment Commissioner can stop this now.

Despite finding that the proposed environmental protection measures are too weak, a Swedish court has given mining company Nordkalk the right to start mining anyway. While the EPA and environmental organisations are appealing to the Supreme Court, work on the mine has already started. In addition to threatening the bordering Natura 2000 EU protected areas and endangered species found in the area, the mine will also put the island's biggest freshwater reserve at risk. But EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik is responsible for ensuring that Sweden meets in EU environmental obligations, and he can step in and save Gotland from this mess -- but only if we give him the political support he needs to interfere.

Swedish EU parliamentarian Carl Schlyter and others are already calling on the Commissioner to intervene. Sign the petition now to add an overwhelming public call on the Commissioner to save Gotland and its protected nature areas! As a local resident myself, I'll work with other locals opposed to the mine and environmental organisations to ensure that our voices are delivered straight to the Commissioner!

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