Text tabled : B6-0460/2006

  Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL), in writing. (PT) We voted in favour of the report, but we are disappointed at the rejection of our proposal to call on the Commission to offer extraordinary Community financial assistance to Portugal, with a view to supporting recovery of the forest areas burnt in the Peneda-Gerês and Serras d’Aire e Candeeiros National Parks, on account of their incalculable ecological, landscape and economic interest.

We welcome, however, the fact that Parliament has once again called on the Commission to apply the European Solidarity Fund flexibly in order to facilitate its application in cases such as the tragedies arising from forest fire disasters. Forest fires do not only bring about huge losses, they also affect people’s way of life, especially in the less wealthy areas that have to confront the adverse effects on infrastructure, on economic potential, on jobs, on the natural and cultural heritage, on the environment and on tourism, which have a knock-on effect on economic and social cohesion.

We also welcome the emphasis on the need for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and Forest Focus to channel their efforts into preventing forest fires in southern countries.