The president of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), José Manuel Moura, stated on Monday that it “doesn’t make sense” to activate the European mechanism for combating fires. However, he does not rule out this possibility in the future.
“There is a lot of talk about the European mechanism. I think there are people who don’t even understand how it works. The mechanism consists of 27 countries from the European Union and ten more that are not,” he noted in an interview with RTP3.
He added, “When a country finds itself in an emergency or emerging situation, what they do is request Brussels to activate the mechanism. There is no headquarters in Brussels with resources that can be activated.”
José Manuel Moura explained that “there are donor countries that provide assistance.” However, he emphasized that there are other countries in the European Union, such as Spain or Greece, which are also being “affected” by fires, so “the availability of resources is not immediately accessible.”
For the president of ANEPC, the European mechanism “is a resource that should be used as a last resort,” especially because “after three consecutive years of activation, the European Union issues warnings.”
Asked if he agrees that the European mechanism has not been activated at this stage, he emphasized, “At this stage, it doesn’t make much sense.”
“That doesn’t mean that, upon further evaluation, it won’t happen,” he admitted, noting that “there is a constant assessment that operationally determines whether to activate or not, followed by a political decision.”
“No, there are no resources lacking”
When questioned about resource availability, José Manuel Moura referred to the “old question relating to forest fires.” “Naturally, my answer is: No, there are no resources lacking,” he asserted.
The president of ANEPC cited the example of the fire being fought in the district of Vila Real, which is now approaching Mondim de Basto, noting that “it involves more than 500 operatives.” “The resources are not always visible to those who end up making these statements.”
“Now there are limit situations. Fortunately, we are not in a limit situation. Our device has provided a very significant response across the national territory,” he stated.
He added, “We are not in a limit situation. Today, we had 94 fires and only this one [in the district of Vila Real] has made the news. Therefore, the 93% efficiency rate in the initial attack is demonstrated.”
Next days? “Prepared”
José Manuel Moura also mentioned that “the alert situation is also reaching its objectives, namely reducing the number of ignitions.” “With fewer ignitions, there is more surplus equipment to assist with other occurrences.”
He highlighted that “between July 28 and August 3, there were 880 ignitions,” with “61 originating during the night.”
Regarding the upcoming days with high temperatures, the president of ANEPC stated they are “prepared” and that pre-reinforcement groups are positioned to “be closer to the problem.”
The president of ANEPC also extended a “solidarity embrace” and wished a “quick recovery” to the two firefighters and a nurse who suffered an accident this afternoon in the municipality of Esposende. The three injured individuals were seriously harmed.
The injured are two firefighters (a man and a woman) and a nurse who were in the ambulance.
Lusa | 16:03 – 04/08/2025
The government, “considering the weather forecasts for the coming days, which indicate a significant increase in the risk of rural fires,” declared a “state of alert throughout mainland territory” from 00:00 on Sunday, August 3, to 23:59 on Thursday, August 7.
Alert takes effect from midnight and extends until 23:59 on Thursday, August 7.
Carolina Pereira Soares with Lusa | 13:06 – 02/08/2025
