During a visit to the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) in Lisbon, José Luís Carneiro expressed the PS party’s willingness to, through parliament, support efforts in Civil Protection, emphasizing that solutions in this area should stem from “stable choices.”
“For example, if the Government intends to reverse the regional and sub-regional commands, the PS will oppose this option because it means reverting to a system prior to 2017, undermining the efforts made since then to empower our Civil Protection system,” warned the former Minister of Internal Administration.
The PS leader also showed willingness to “revise the funding law for humanitarian firefighter associations” and promote “reform of the National Firefighter School to further strengthen the human resource structure integrated into the national Civil Protection device.”
Another objective of the PS, according to Carneiro, is to create a fund, comparable to the Environmental Fund, financed by various beneficiaries of a solid Civil Protection structure, aimed at financing infrastructure and equipment with a multi-annual and lasting nature.
“We are working to empower society and the State to be better prepared for circumstances like those that may arise, particularly during emergencies, such as the recent power outage, which highlighted the importance of timely planning in these areas,” he added.
When asked whether the socialists will bring these proposals to parliament, José Luís Carneiro stated these are measures “the Socialist Party is committed to.”
“The most important aspect of these matters is not about claiming credit. The key is whether we, as a national community, can construct durable collective solutions, irrespective of the governments,” he stated amidst journalists’ inquiries about advancing these proposals in parliament.
According to the PS Secretary-General, Civil Protection matters “should be subject to rigorous analysis” and “consideration of options” that should be “stable over time to yield results.”
“To avoid situations observed in other areas, which arise, I believe, from a lack of consideration and consolidation of previous options, leading to emerging new problems,” he pointed out.
