The government approved this Thursday, in the Council of Ministers, a decree-law that extends the support regime and simplification measures created following the storms to the entire national territory, but adherence now depends on one condition: it must be proven that the damage resulted from this sequence of meteorological phenomena.
This announcement was made by the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, at the press conference at the end of the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers. The government official defended that the principle is equal access, highlighting that “if they have the same type of damage linked to this type of event, they deserve the same support”.
Until now, this regime applied to a limited set of municipalities, associated with territories covered by exceptional mechanisms following storms. With the new decision, the possibility of access now exists anywhere in the country, as long as the damage meets the defined criteria.
According to Leitão Amaro, the diploma extends “the support regime and simplification measures” that were in force for around 90 municipalities to the entire territory. The measure includes, in practice, rules for greater procedural speed and simplification of procedures in recovery interventions.
The minister explained that, whenever there are interventions to recover damages caused by the sequence of storms, the same model of support and procedural speed can be applied. The intention, he said, is to allow faster responses in works and repairs, without geographically discriminating cases with similar losses.
Even so, the Government emphasizes that the expansion is neither automatic nor generalized by municipality. The application will now be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, based on proof that the damage is linked to the meteorological events that motivated the support.
The condition that decides access: proof of damage and local recognition
The new rule is based on a central requirement: inclusion in the regime depends on proof of damage and respective recognition. In the case of municipal works, recognition must involve municipalities and the CCDR, as indicated by the Government.
The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, had already anticipated that the expansion would not mean declaring each municipality as “fully covered”. The objective, he said, is to allow a house, a neighborhood, a company, an industrial area, a parish or several parishes to benefit from the regime, as long as it is demonstrated that the level of losses is sufficiently extensive and transversal.
This approach aims to respond to localized situations that, despite occurring outside the municipalities initially covered, have recorded comparable damage. In practice, access depends on formal validation of the framework and the link between the losses and the storms.
Context: calamity, new municipalities and Government response
The issue comes after weeks of measures aimed at the most affected territories, with the Government highlighting its ability to respond to the succession of storms. Luís Montenegro stated that the procedures “were and are quick” and pointed out a “high” response to the impacts, also citing fatal victims and homeless people.
At the same time, an order was published that added 22 more municipalities to the 68 municipalities that had been covered by the calamity situation declared in January in areas affected by the Kristin depression. In these municipalities, the same support provided for the territories already covered applies.
The calamity situation, initially decreed on January 29th and later extended, ended on February 15th, as did the toll exemption in the affected territories. With the new decree-law, the government now seeks to open the door to support outside this delimitation, as long as the damage is proven to be associated with storms.
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