Parliament approved this Friday, October 17th, in a final vote, the PCP bill that reinforces urgent measures to support fire victims, as well as Livre and PAN resolutions on soil stabilization and fire prevention.
Bill 171/XVII, from the PCP, with final text from the Agriculture and Fisheries committee, which “reinforces urgent measures to support fire victims”, in a first amendment to decree-law 98-A/2025, was approved with votes in favor from PCP, Chega, PS, Livre, BE, PAN and JPP and abstention from PSD, CDS-PP and IL.
Deputies also unanimously approved draft resolution 261/XVII, from Livre, with the final text of the Agriculture and Fisheries committee, which “recommends the adoption and financing of emergency stabilization measures for soils at risk after fires”.
Project resolutions 277/XVII and 278/XVII, from the PAN, were also approved, with final text from the Agriculture and Fisheries committee, for the use of Artificial Intelligence for the prevention and detection of forest fires, within the scope of the implementation of the ‘Forest 2050, Future + Green’ Plan, and for the “shortening of the deadline for updating the National Forest Inventory”, within the scope of the same plan, only with the PCP abstaining.
The final text of the PCP bill establishes a reinforcement of “measures to support and mitigate the impact of rural fires, in matters of housing, health, access to benefits and social support of an exceptional nature, support for loss of income, restoration of productive potential”, including emergency response measures and “prevention and economic relaunch”.
The granting of social benefits and support must take into account “the need to compensate for the total or partial loss of sources of income, primary or complementary, as a result of the fires” and the possible “combination of social benefits of different nature, with or without contributory nature” and “specific complements in cases where social benefits already exist”.
The diploma provides that “victims who have an effective connection to the locations where they were located are entitled to support for the reconstruction of second homes, in an amount of at least 50%, up to a maximum of 100,000 euros, with the remainder being able to be supported by a line of credit with state guarantee and a maximum interest rate of 3%”.
“Exceptional support is also given to farmers, to compensate for losses, even if undocumented, up to a value of 15,000 euros, following a joint inspection by technicians from the municipalities and the CCDR [Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional]”, territorially competent, with the minimum amount of expenditure eligible for support of 100 euros.
In the deconcentrated structures of the CCDR there will be “a support desk to serve and support fire victims who are candidates for support”, guaranteeing the Government “the creation of a network of branches with a municipal basis”.
The resolution presented by Livre recommends that the executive “make exceptional financing available for emergency soil stabilization and ecological restoration actions” in areas affected by fires.
Parliament also recommends the immediate opening of “notices for the conclusion of ‘Resilient Territories’ program contracts, so that it is possible to act in the burned areas, guaranteeing the rapid mobilization of resources and coordination between public and private entities, in order to ensure the protection of the public interest and the conservation of natural heritage”.
The Government must also encourage “cross-border cooperation, ensuring “adequate financial and human resources for interventions that are identified as necessary, in order to reinforce the resilience of the border and cross-border territory”.
The resolution also recommends “systematic monitoring of the burned areas, for a period of no less than two years, and the effectiveness of the different interventions carried out post-fire, which includes, in particular, the periodic collection of sediments, the assessment of vegetation regeneration and the analysis of soil properties”.
In the resolutions presented by the PAN, it is recommended that the Government, within the scope of the implementation of the Forest 2050 Plan, Future + Green, “reinforce the necessary means and resources for the use of Artificial Intelligence for the prevention and detection of forest fires” and “consider shortening the period for updating the National Forest Inventory and the possibility of intermediate partial updates”.