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Brussels – The Petitions Committee of the European Parliament has requested on Monday that the European Commission provide regular updates on the progress of European funds processes for the towns affected by the cold drop, which last October left more than 200 dead in the east and south of Spain, most of them in the Valencian Community.
This was decided unanimously by the members of this parliamentary committee in response to a particular petition requesting the mobilization of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as financial support through the EU Solidarity Fund and the Emergency Aid Reserve.
In response, the European Commission recalled that the Spanish authorities had already activated the Civil Protection Mechanism on November 8; the agricultural crisis reserve, on November 18, and the European Solidarity Fund, on January 20.
Furthermore, the community Executive has added that it is preparing a strategy to strengthen the EU’s response to natural disasters and has advanced its intention to reinforce the European Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as to invest more in prevention and citizen preparedness for this type of disasters that are taking on “an alarming frequency”.
In this regard, ‘popular’ MEP Rosa Estarás criticized that the European Solidarity Fund was not requested until the “last moment” and warned that while the European Commission evaluates it, the European People’s Party (EPP) will remain “very vigilant” to ensure that all the advances from the allocation that Brussels considers appropriate can arrive in time.
Meanwhile, socialist Sandra Gómez criticized that the president of the Valencian Community, Carlos Mazón, was “unreachable for hours” while the emergency was being managed, which led to a “catastrophically late dispatch to the entire Valencian population” of the relevant alerts.
To avoid similar situations, Gómez has requested the services of the European Civil Protection Mechanism to maintain a study to improve prevention practices that conclude with the development of much “higher” common European standards. She also requested the application of the European Solidarity Fund and the creation of a specific natural disaster fund before inviting MEPs to visit the affected areas.
A proposal accepted by Vox MEP Jorge Buxadé, who stated his support for the socialist initiative to travel to Valencia, although he requested to speak only with the neighbors and not with the institutions, as he considers that they have been responsible for the damage caused by the floods resulting from the cold drop which, in his opinion, “could have been avoided”.
“Socialist politicians won’t have the guts to go to Valencia, because there are still piled-up cars,” remarked Buxadé, who considers both Mazón, whom he labeled “not diligent”, and the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, whom he accused of having a “criminal” attitude, responsible for the tragedy.
“Listening to Buxadé, one completely understands that when you’re in the affected towns, they tell you they feel ashamed,” stated, in response, Compromís MEP Vicent Marzà, who lamented that the debate focuses on “sterile squabbles” of “rulers who only seek to blame another” and parties that “only want to stir up hate to gain electoral profit from a brutal human disaster”.
“It’s normal that people then feel ashamed and do not understand at all what their political representatives are doing,” he emphasized, before advocating for working to speed up the arrival of funds and seeking solutions to prevent similar situations in the future.