Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-01-Speech-1-072"
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"en.20030901.5.1-072"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, after what has been said already, it will be impossible for me to be original. The south of Europe – France, Spain and Italy – was, regrettably, plagued by fire this summer, but my country, Portugal, was hit particularly hard. The fires, which affected 15 of our 18 districts, wiped out 5% of our national woodland. The effects of this tragedy are economic and environmental, but also human. I can only pay tribute, therefore, to the 18 people who lost their lives, and express my condolences to their families. I would also, however, like to express my sympathy with all those of my fellow-countrymen whose lives were affected by the fires and who are going through a time of anxiety about the future. I am thinking in particular of those families for whom woodlands constitute the main – or, in some cases, the only – means of subsistence.
The scale of this tragedy calls for European Union support, which should be immediate and sufficient. Consequently, I would underline what my fellow Members have already said here about the effective and immediate action of the Portuguese Government, which took measures and steps to minimise the social and human impact. I would also highlight Commissioner Barnier’s words of support and his announcement of a financial package from the European Union Social Fund, made during his visit to Portugal last week.
You found the right tone for the occasion, Commissioner, and for that I thank you. Furthermore, that tone managed to ease our burden. As the Commissioner said, though, we also feel that the aid on offer does not meet our expectations. This is a tragic state of affairs, particularly tragic in its broad sweep. Allow me to insist: this is a completely unprecedented disaster, and such unprecedented cases must be granted a commensurate level of aid. We hope, Commissioner, that the highly persuasive effects of the ash-blackened landscape which you saw with your own eyes in Portugal after the fires will provide the motivation that is lacking for an affirmative response to be given to the reasonable and adequate request made by the authorities in my country."@en1
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