“Not everything went well.” Montenegro announced 45 measures and plan for 25 years

The Prime Minister’s speech to appeal to the Union beyond the party divisions, with only a hint of regret. Montenegro asked for national pact for the forest and announced support to the victims of the fires.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro recognized this Thursday that “Not everything went well” in the fight against fires and may have transmitted the image of some removal during the fight against forest fires in recent weeks. But never left an explicit apology. He gave the Portuguese only his lament.

“We know that, although we have the largest device ever, not everything went well or goes well and we can’t always avoid these large fires and duration,” said Luís Montenegro, who admits: “We have not been in the operations theaters,” but says “that”We’ve always been close and close to the operational direction ”, also recalling its origins and has had direct contact with the same dramas that are now experienced by farmers and populations more isolated and affected by fireworks.

The clarification arose at the departure of an Extraordinary Council of Ministers in Viseu, marked by the presentation of a package of 45 immediate support measures to the affected populations and companies, as well as for the defense of a 25 -year national pact for the valorization of the forest.

Montenegro spoke to the country after several criticism of the opposition and several mayors who accused him of lack of proximity and absence in the most critical moments of the fires, especially after being attended at the Pontal Festival, while still drawing fires in various regions of the country.

It is recalled that in 2022, Luís Montenegro himself demanded António Costa to apologize to the Portuguese for the management of this year’s fireworks.

25 -year pact for the forest

Montenegro argued that the 2025-2050 Forest Intervention Plan, presented in March and now forwarded to Parliament, should be viewed as a National Pactbased on political and social convergence.

This plan proposes a continuous effort of 25 years to improve territory planning; Value and monetize forest production; stimulate agricultural and economic activity; reconcile interests of local companies, owners and communities and promote a more populated and resilient territory.

Among the expected measures, there are possible changes in the property regime, tighter rules for cleaning land and new security obligations.

The goal is to reduce the occurrence of fires and limit the impact of those that cannot be avoided.

45 Immediate Support Measures

In the emergency plan now approved, the government has decided to finance 100% the reconstruction of first dwellings up to 250 thousand euros and 85% to comply with the amounts above this limit.

Support for the treasury of affected companies and subsidies for families in proven economic lack.

Montenegro also announced the reinforcement of health care in affected areas, exemption from moderating rates and free dismissal of medicines.

In the agricultural sector, a Expedite support up to 10,000 euros per farmerwithout the need to present proof of expense, simply by completing an online form that will be available in the coming weeks. The measure is mainly aimed at small farmers and may be accumulated with other support for housing or productive infrastructures.

“5 times bigger” losses than last year

Montenegro also guaranteed that the this year’s losses are already five times higher than 2024where the fires caused 67 million euros of damage to the national forest.

Although the exact numbers are still being determined, the government ensures that the response will be quick and proportional to the dimension of the tragedy.

Another of the decisions made was the approval of a New legal framework for natural catastrophe situationswhich will serve as the basis for future interventions in similar scenarios. The executive considers that this mechanism makes unnecessary the formal statement of “state of calamity”which has been requested by mayors and opposition parties.