“In view of the gravity of the situation and the urgent need to strengthen firefighting capabilities, Chega considers it inadmissible that Portugal delayed in requesting this European support, endangering human lives, homes, and vast areas of the national territory,” according to a statement.
Portugal has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism with a request for support of four Canadair firefighting aircraft, announced today by the national civil protection commander, Mário Silvestre.
In a briefing at the National Civil Protection Authority in Carnaxide, to report on the development of the fires ravaging the country, Mário Silvestre stated that Portugal will be the seventh country to activate the European mechanism.
The parliamentary group of Chega will request the convening of the Assembly of the Republic (AR) “as soon as possible”, to hear the Minister of Internal Administration, if necessary, through an extraordinary urgent debate, it was announced.
The party demands that Maria Lúcia Amaral appear “urgently” in the AR, to “explain the concrete reasons for the delay in requesting help from the European Union, the measures—or lack thereof—taken to prevent the escalation of the situation, as well as the apparent inefficiency in coordinating and mobilizing national resources”.
Chega will inform the president of the AR, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, of this request today.
For the party, the protection of populations and territorial defense “cannot be held hostage to government inertia or planning failures”.
“In a country where fires constitute a recurrent threat, the response must be quick, efficient, and properly coordinated, both nationally and at the European level,” it concluded.
The national civil protection commander explained today that the authorities initially opted to rely on bilateral cooperation agreements with Spain and Morocco, with the latter providing two Canadairs that will remain in Portugal until Monday. Spanish resources assisted in combating the fires in Castelo de Vide and Chaves, he indicated.
Mário Silvestre justified the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism due to weather conditions not allowing for an opportunity to control certain fires overnight, contrary to what authorities expected, giving the example of the Lousã fire.
The national commander reminded that the state of readiness (level 4) remains until the 18th and the alert situation in the country until the 17th, revealing that the District Emergency Plans have been activated in Viseu and Coimbra, as well as all municipal plans in these regions.
