The Autonomous Region of Madeira “is in a good position to obtain a new helicopter to reinforce firefighting resources,” said MEP Bogdan Rzońca, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (PETI), at the end of a three-day visit to the Region. The deputy also stressed that “housing has become a European problem” and defended the reinforcement of community support to Madeira in these two areas. The statements were made in Polish, with translation into Portuguese, during a press conference held in Santa Cruz.
The delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions was in Madeira to assess the situation of affordable housing and the impacts of the 2024 forest fires, following two petitions that warned about the problems. The mission was led by Bogdan Rzońca of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group and was attended by MEPs Virginie Joron, Gordan Bosanac, and Dariusz Joński. The Madeiran deputy Sérgio Gonçalves (PS) was part of the visit as a guest.
During yesterday’s press conference, Bogdan Rzońca took stock of the three-day trip, in which the delegation began work on Monday, meeting with the authors of the petitions on housing and fires. The next day, the group met with officials from the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN), visited Paul da Serra, one of the areas affected by the fires, and went to Câmara de Lobos, where they observed housing projects financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). The meetings with the President of the Regional Government, Miguel Albuquerque, and several Regional Secretaries allowed the discussion of housing, civil protection, and European investment policies.
Bogdan Rzońca noted the need to reinforce the means of the Civil Protection of Madeira with at least one more aerial means: “They need more financial support from the European Union. We learned about the role of civil protection in preventing and fighting forest fires, and we found that it is necessary to strengthen the equipment.”
“There is a great chance to increase funds for Madeira in the area of defence and security. We want to have more reserves for disasters. If there is a good argument, it will be possible to increase funding for the acquisition of new firefighting tools, in this specific case, a helicopter,” he pointed out.
Bogdan Rzońca also recalled that the European Union is preparing its budget for 2028-2034, and that Madeira’s needs could be considered in this review.
“If the Regional Government presents the needs of civil protection, I believe that MEPs will welcome these requests,” he said.
Housing is “a European problem”
Regarding housing, the Polish MEP pointed out that Madeira’s situation reflects a European trend: “Housing has become a European problem. There is a very sharp price crisis in Madeira, with increases of more than 20% and a very underdeveloped rental market. All this makes construction prices skyrocket.”
The MEP also defended a more active role of the public sector: “Public housing is the key to a balanced development of the island. It is necessary to ensure that everyone has access to dignified conditions.”
The MEP also announced that the recommendations following the visit will be presented and voted on “at the next meetings of the Committee on Petitions, which will take place in the next three months.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
