Subject: Implementation of the European Solidarity Fund in Portugal
The EU has approved EUR 50.6 million for Portugal under the Solidarity Fund to cover the damage caused by the tragedy of the fires in 2017. The Portuguese Government has given EUR 26.5 million of this EUR 50.6 million to state entities, such as the National Civil Protection Authority, the National Republican Guard, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry, the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration and branches of the Armed Forces. Thus, more than half of the amount of the Solidarity Fund is intended for expenditure which should be covered by the State budget.
In view of the Portuguese Government’s decision, I would ask the Commission:
1. Does the European Commission consider that the Solidarity Fund Regulation and its spirit are being respected?
2. The European Parliament, in its resolution on the mobilisation of EUR 50.6 million from the Solidarity Fund, has agreed as follows: ‘Calls on Member States to utilise the financial contribution from the Solidarity Fund in a transparent way, guaranteeing a fair distribution throughout the affected regions’. This resolution is not being respected by the Portuguese Government. In light of this, what action will the Commission take?
Joint answer given by Ms Creţu on behalf of the European Commission
(3 October 2018)
Assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund is implemented under the principle of shared management. It is therefore the responsibility of the designated Portuguese authorities to select individual operations for financing and allocate the Solidarity Fund contribution — while respecting the eligibility conditions and criteria laid down in the Solidarity Fund Regulation (1) and specified in the relevant Commission Implementing Decision (2).
Annex I to this decision earmarks an indicative amount of EUR 11.473 million for ‘securing preventive infrastructure — replacement of damaged fire combat and surveillance vehicles and communication systems and fire monitoring equipment’.
The remaining EUR 39.2 million are earmarked for the restoration of essential infrastructure (EUR 24.1 million), cleaning-up operations (EUR 15 million) and cost of the rescue services (EUR 0.1 million).
Once the 18 months implementation period is completed, the Portuguese authorities will have to submit a detailed implementation report, based on which the Commission will assess the management of the intervention.
⋅1∙ Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund
⋅2∙ Commission Implementing Decision of 20.6.2018 awarding a financial contribution from the European Union Solidarity Fund to finance emergency and recovery
operations relating to the 2017 forest fires in Portugal.