Fires: President asks that disproportionate calls not be made to activate the European mechanism

The President of the Republic today called for disproportionate calls to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism to combat the fires, arguing that there is a risk of trivializing this type of request.

Speaking to journalists on Pico Island in the Azores, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued that, at this time, the priority should be to "prevent what might happen in the coming weeks" and "not resort to extreme measures" as if the "situation were as serious" as that already experienced in other countries.

The President of the Republic was speaking after the Mayor of Ponte da Barca requested the Government to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism or other bilateral agreements with countries to combat the fire in the Peneda-Gerês National Park this Wednesday.

"It seems prudent not to begin by making appeals that are disproportionate to the times we live in and the circumstances we face, trivializing this request and making it more difficult, in the case of a more serious emergency, to resort to it," he said.

Marcelo explained that he was at the Civil Protection – without the presence of the media – last Tuesday and it was from that visit that he “gathered this feeling” about the activation of the European Civil Protection Mechanism.

The President of the Republic also said, regarding the fire in Ponte da Barca, that the municipality is already receiving support from Spanish resources, recalling that "there is an agreement that states that up to 25 kilometers from the border there is automatic intervention on both sides."

The request from the Social Democratic mayor of Ponte da Barca came after several unsuccessful appeals to the Government for increased aerial resources to combat the fire that began on Saturday in the Peneda-Gerês National Park.

"It's impossible to fight this fire with just one aerial resource. This sentence says it all. I'm outraged, revolted," Augusto Marinho told Lusa.

On the same day, Portugal requested satellite assistance from the European Union (EU), through the Copernicus system, but has not yet activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism, the European Commission told Lusa.

According to the European Commission, "a request to activate the European Civil Protection Mechanism has not yet been made," but the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) has requested satellite images for the fires affecting the municipalities of Arouca, in the Aveiro district, and Ponte da Barca, in the Viana do Castelo district.