The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that the Interministerial Commission for the execution of the Special Plan for the Reconstruction of La Palma will "begin to work" on the lines of aid that may come from the European Union to the island, "given the magnitude of the catastrophe."
"We are working against the clock so that, among all the institutions and with unity, the people of La Palma have the greatest certainty," the president said on his fourth visit to La Palma, where he predicted that "unfortunately it will not be the last" and promised to return.
At a press conference from La Palma, where he attended the meeting of the Pevolca Steering Committee accompanied by the President of the Canary Islands Government, Víctor Torres, and the President of the Cabildo de La Palma, Mariano Hernández, Sánchez defended that Spain is a "solidary country" that 24 days ago "all" citizens are "aware" of La Palma and sympathize with the people of La Palma, whom he thanks for their "civic attitude" and asks for "patience" to guarantee success in the face of this dramatic situation."
"Citizens want us to be forward-looking, deploying a policy with high aspirations and putting the people of La Palma at the center of our priorities, not only while the eruption lasts but afterwards we will have a great task of recovery. We are going to do it and we are going to undertake it. There is a difficult but important task ahead for the recovery of La Palma," the president said.
Sánchez has summarized the measures adopted to date by the different administrations and has praised the management of the emergency at the different levels of governance from the steering committee and the committee of scientists to see the evolution of the volcano and make decisions.
In addition, he pointed out that the Mixed Commission in which the Government of Spain, the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo and the City Councils participate met this Monday and again this Wednesday. Throughout this Wednesday, the representatives of the Commission will hold a meeting with those affected who "have lost everything, who have seen their homes and businesses damaged."
The president added that "all the institutions" are working from the first day "side by side" and rowing "in the same direction regardless of political color because they are all united by the same common horizon which is to safeguard the lives of the people in order to then attend to "the most urgent and immediate" such as the relocation of those who "have lost everything or are about to lose it."
The president maintains that "there is still a lot of work to do"
Likewise, he has guaranteed that the recovery task ahead, to which the Government has already responded, will be addressed, first with 10 million euros for the purchase of household goods and housing, with the declaration of an area seriously affected by civil protection emergency, with the special ERTEs for La Palma and with the island's reconstruction plan that contemplates "for the time being" more than 214 million euros, pending knowing the final amount that will be necessary for the recovery or the 60 million of the employment plan.
However, he has admitted that there is "a lot of work" ahead and that "unfortunately" the news conveyed by the Scientific Committee is that "the activity does not cease and it does not seem that a reduction can be seen."
For this reason, he has urged the population to continue to be "very aware" of the information from Civil Protection and to follow "minute by minute" the emergency services in order to guarantee the safety of the population. In this sense, he has asked for "patience" because "nothing" can be done until the Cumbre Vieja volcano stops its activity.
Finally, he has recognized the work of the device in charge of the emergency, the Civil Guard "who celebrated their patron saint yesterday", the Military Emergency Unit, the Army that is going to be deployed to help the people of La Palma and the Red Cross, as well as Science, of which he believes that Spaniards should feel "very proud" because they have made it possible to give a "response according to the emergency."
