The Government is considering the possibility of requesting assistance from the European Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of areas devastated by the effects of DANA in the Valencian Community and Castile-La Mancha. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, confirmed this this Wednesday in an institutional declaration at the Palace of Moncloa, without asking questions.
“We will help you with all the resources of the State, if necessary, of the EU, so that you can move forward and rebuild your homes and your lives as quickly as possible. To the cities now destroyed by this tragic situation, I say the same thing,” declared the President of Government, addressing both those affected and local entities.
Thus, the Sánchez administration will decree the area as “heavily affected by a natural phenomenon”, that is, what is commonly called a catastrophic zone.
Likewise, the Spanish government has decreed 3 days of official mourning for honor the memory of the more than 70 people who diedmajority in Valencia, due to this extreme weather phenomenon. This was announced on Wednesday by the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres. The minister also announced that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, plans to travel to Valencia this Thursday.
“The Spanish Government is committed to collaborating in whatever is necessary with all institutions, the most affected being the community with the greatest impact of DANA, the Generalitat Valenciana, in whatever is necessary,” said the leader of territorial policy. portfolio in the same line as the President of the Government.
Currently, 1,116 EMU troops are deployed in the area, including 200 army troops, more than 700 civil guardsaround a hundred agents from the National, regional and local Police, as well as Civil Protection troops. To this must be added 344 vehicles, including land and air.
The crisis committee is chaired, in addition to Sánchez, by the first vice-president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero. The third vice-president and minister of ecological transition, Teresa Ribera, is also inside, but could not take charge, since she is in Brussels. They are joined by the Second Vice President and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz; the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños; the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente and Ángel Víctor Torres. In addition to the UME, the AEMET and Civil Protection.
Sánchez assured “that he will continue to work alongside” the regional presidents and mayors of the affected areas. “I am in contact with them 24 hours a day,” the president said.
The European Solidarity Fund to recover affected areas
The European Union Solidarity Fund is a mechanism that allows the community body to provide financial assistance to a Member State so that it can cope with the damage caused by a serious natural disaster or health emergency.
In February this year, the financial framework until 2027 was revised and additional funds were provided to address the new emergency challenges facing the Union. Thus, the budget of the Solidarity Reserve will increase by 1.5 billion.
