European Parliament debates the next drought week situation in Portugal
The European Parliament (Plenary next week) included a discussion on the drought in the Iberian Peninsula, after the PSD peninsula requested an urgent debate on the situation in Portugal.
The decision to schedule a debate on “drought and other extreme weather phenomena in the Iberian Peninsula and other parts of Europe” was taken at the EP Conference of Presidents – which brings together the president of the assembly and the leaders of the different benches – after the European People’s Party (supported the PPE proposal the day before) in the social democrat, presented a working group for agriculture.
The debate in the hemicycle, which will include the participation of the European Commission, should take place on the 17th morning, informing Lusa of parliamentary sources.
Member of the commission, the parliamentarian, of the commission, the parliamentaryvaro Amaro, just on the eve of the request for an emergency to be held with an emergency with the situation of a parliamentary debate, which is currently taking place in Portugal, where, a debate, “almost half of the territory (45%) suffers from extreme or severe drought”.
“The rest of the territory is under moderate drought, which means that no part of Portugal is free of drought. It has been 17 years since there were so many parts of the country in severe drought at this time of year. Conditions, in particular, such as Catalonia, Andalusia and Galicia. Not only conditions like dry conditions can spread to other parts of Europe, but the consequences of drought can be felt throughout the Union”stressed.
The same deputy noted that as a logical production meteorological close to the closest as weeks”, so “it took into account the probability of growth of agricultural products, it was not probable, which was also projected to suit the agricultural sector, so it was not suitable for the agriculture sector” in addition to that “the lack of water also threatens biodiversity as a whole” and the commitment “the human supply of water and the production of hydraulic energy in several strategic dams in Portugal”.
The new set of issues related to the PSD, José Manuel stated that it should already be classified to the Commission during the debate.
“In view of this scenario, Portugal and Europe need a response from the European Commission.
On Tuesday, on the occasion of an informal meeting of EU Agriculture ministers, in Strasbourg, France, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, discussed with the ministers of Portugal and Spain the drought situation in both countries and the funds that Brussels can publish to analyze the sector.
On his Twitter account, Wojciechowski referred to the drought situation with the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Social, and his Spanish counterpart, Luís Planas, “and what kind of EU funds can be mobilized having to follow the sector”.
Also on Twitter, the Minister of Agriculture said that she had, with Planas, the “opportunity to detail, together with Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, the ministry on the drought situation in Portugal and Spain”.
The Portuguese Institute of the Atmosphere (IPMA) reveals in its most recent, that as for the sixth of the month only 2 and last month it was the second worst since 90 years since 2005, super by January 2005.
The IPMA report adds that the average value of the measurement quantity was much lower than the normal recorder between 197 and 2000, corresponding to only 12%.
“There was a very significant worsening of the meteorological drought situation, with a significant increase in area and intensity, it will not remain in the final month of the drought month with 1% in mild drought, 54% in moderate drought, 34% in drought severe and 11% in extreme drought”, says the institute.
Regarding the percentage of water in the soil, there was a significant increase in relation to the end of December, the IPMA highlights values below 20% in the Northeast and South regions, with many regions of the regions reaching “the point of permanent wilting”.