Special Council of Ministers convened to assess "the entire situation regarding the fires and consequences thereof"

The Government declared a state of catastrophe in all the municipalities affected by the fires of the last few days.

The announcement was made by the Prime Minister at the end of a special council of ministers convened to assess "the entire situation regarding the fires and consequences thereof", a meeting that was presided over by the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa upon invitation by Luís Montenegro.

Calling this state of catastrophe will allow the Government’s multidisciplinary team, coordinated by the Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister and of Territorial Cohesion Manuel Castro Almeida to "offer the most immediate and urgent relief to those who no longer have a home, a shelter for the next few days, relief to those who have no way of feeding themselves, get dressed, or access to the most basic everyday needs".

Luís Montenegro also announced the creation of exceptional schemes so that civil servants, especially firefighters, can focus fully on the operations to fight the fires and the consequences thereof.

The Prime Minister also stated that together with the President of the Republic and "all members of Government", an analysis was conducted of the possibility to activate the European Union Solidarity Fund "if the prerequisites for such activation are met".

Luís Montenegro stress that the Government will not give up on pursuing "these criminals", nor "fighting those who place the country at stake".