Work in Parliament Maria da Graça Carvalho calls for the establishment of a European contingency plan for extreme drought in the Algarve and Alentejo

Maria da Graça Carvalho defended on Monday evening, during speech at the Strasbourg plenary session, that the European Union should draw up a contingency plan to deal with the effects of the extreme drought affecting several areas of Alentejo and Algarve, with measures to provide immediate and long-term responses to this problem.

Reminding a call to that effect made in Brussels by the Mayor of Monchique, Rui André, a few days ago, Graça Carvalho considered that "this plan may involve water efficiency programs, construction of dams or installation of desalination plants".

For Graça Carvalho, the request made by that mayor reflects the concerns of many other political leaders, namely in the countries of Southern Europe.

"Aware that the lack of water is a scourge for many European regions, I subscribe and reinforce this call to action", she said. And added "it is urgent that the European Union defines and implements measures that will make it possible to face more quickly these and other phenomena".

Taking into account that the 2019 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP25) will take place shortly (2 to 13 December, in Madrid), Maria da Graça Carvalho recalled that “the fight against climate change is not only made through the adoption of preventive measures, however crucial they may be. It is also essential to respond to the effects that we already face today”.