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Portugal was given the green light by the European Commission to use swiftly use 500 million euros from the cohesion fund in the coming years to cover the losses from the wildland fires, the Prime Minister announced when addressing the journalists following a meeting with the Chief Prosecutor, the Ministers of Home Affairs and Justice, the National Director for the Criminal Police and the GNR (Gendarmerie) Commander-General.
The European Commission allowed this sum to be managed directly by the Government in order to streamline procedures and eliminate red tape "without any obligation of a pre-requisite or prior approval". The Prime Minister also noted that, exceptionally, payment can be 100% in cases to be later defined by the Government.
The sums will be used exclusively to cover the loss of these events: "(…) we will not give the illusion to people that can now cover losses that do not come from these events with the sums available. Therefore, naturally, when handling public money, there will be effective and efficient supervision", Luís Montenegro said. Therefore, this sum will be used "using justice criteria and the non-tampering with rules and the losses registered" so that "people’s lives aren’t penalised further". The aim is to help those who lost their homes, who saw their jobs put at risk and the farmers who no longer have the conditions to produce".
Luís Montenegro stated that a comprehensive survey will be made of the ongoing investigations on the crime of starting wildland fires.
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