This is what spokesperson Kenneth Nilsson told SVT Norrbotten at the time.
"We wanted to highlight now, regardless of what the Land and Environment Court says, we wanted to mark our will in this matter. No matter what they say, our opinion on the matter is no different. The environmental issue is very important for those of us who have children and grandchildren in the area. This is one of the main issues, in addition to that, it is also the Sami communities that lose a lot of pasture and migration routes that close off a large area for them along the river valley.
The Court has given permission
Last week, the Land and Environment Court handed down a judgment in the case in which the battery anode company Talga AB applied for an environmental permit in Njunisvárri outside Vittangi in Kiruna municipality. The court grants permission and considers that the company meets the environmental criteria and it is also considered that it is possible to combine mining activities with reindeer husbandry. What does Kiruna municipality's ability look like to stop a mining establishment if the majority of the municipal council wants it?
Admittedly, municipal self-government in Sweden is very strong and is established in the constitution, says Maria Pettersson, Professor of Law at Luleå University of Technology, but there are openings.
"Decisions should be made close to the citizens, but it's not without openings. Since the Land and Environment Court has given permission for the activity and in that permit, it has been assessed that the area in question is of national interest, both for reindeer husbandry but also for the extraction of valuable substances and if the municipality does not adopt a detailed plan that, for example, promotes this national interest, then the government can step in and order the municipality to adopt such a plan and it breaks the municipal planning monopoly. It is one of very, very few opportunities to do so," says Maria Pettersson.
Does the municipality have any great chance in this case of stopping this mining via the detailed development plan?
"I wouldn't think so in the long run, given that this permit has now been announced and the national interests are established legally, so I don't think so," replies Maria Pettersson.