Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Parliament held a minute of silence for Spain’s flood victims, with ongoing alerts and recovery support.
EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola extended the 13-14 November plenary session in Brussels with a minute of silence for the victims of the flood tragedy in Spain. Following the destructive floods that swept through towns in Valencia and other areas in Spain two weeks ago and have taken at least 223 lives.
President Roberta Metsola led MEPs in a minute’s silence in honour of the victims. She stated that Europe was in shock and mourning and that the EU was willing to help in any way during the process of recovery and rebuilding, including via more flexibility to get financial help.
How severe are the ongoing weather warnings in Spain?
Furthermore, two weeks after flash floods induced devastation in eastern Spain, several regions of the country are on alert, with a new weather front predicted to bring torrential rain and low temperatures. Eastern and southern Mediterranean regions are again the most vulnerable, with Spain’s meteorological agency Aemet placing parts of the Valencia, Catalonia and Andalusia regions, as well as the Balearic Islands, on orange alert.
Aemet alerts of rainfall and storms that could be “very strong to torrential”. That orange sign is the second highest and it signals a powerful meteorological event “with a degree of danger for normal activities.”
Spain’s King Felipe VI was due to visit a military headquarters at Bétera in Valencia where members of the armed forces are taking part in the continuing search for missing people and the clean-up procedure. On an earlier visit to Valencia, the king, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the regional president Carlos Mazón were humiliated, jostled and had dirt thrown at them by people in the town of Paiporta, due to the perceived absence of state help in the wake of the tragedy.
Why were the European Council discussions postponed at parliament?
Moreover, as reported by the press of the EU Parliament, the European Council and Commission assertions on the Conclusions of the European Council meetings of October and November 2024 are dismissed from the agenda, due to the absence of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. A Commission statement on the devastating floods in Spain, the urgent necessity to support the victims, improve preparedness and fight the climate crisis is counted as the first item on the agenda.
The European Council and Commission statements on EU-US ties in light of the outcome of the US presidential elections are transformed into a Commission statement. A Commission statement on Georgia’s deepening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud is counted to the agenda, and MEPs voted to wind up the discussion with a resolution to be voted at the next part-session. A Commission statement on the Deplorable escalation of brutality around the football match in the Netherlands and the unacceptable aggression against Israeli football fans is added as the fifth item.
