The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaskahas pointed out this Wednesday in the Congress to the “omission” of the Valencian Government of Carlos Mazón to deal with situations such as the DANA, according to its competencies that give it the leadership to respond to an emergency.
In addition, to the criticism of the PP for not assuming the command of the Ministry of the Interior, Marlaska has recalled that the emergency level of national interest has “never” been activated in Spain. He has also indicated that it was the now main opposition party that approved in 2015, being in the Government, the law of the National Civil Protection System that he now questions.
“If the Government of the Generalitat Valenciana was or understood that it was incapable or powerless to assume the emergency, well could have requested it to the Government of the nation“Marlaska commented in response to repeated questions from the PP to hold him responsible for what happened with the DANA. In this sense, Marlaska has addressed the PP bench to ask them if what they were doing is calling the Government of Mazón “incapable and incompetent”.
National emergency for the continuity of the DAO
From the PP, and then also Vox, have censured Marlaska for including in the second royal decree law of aid for the DANA the continuity of the DAO of the Police for to avoid their retirement in the near future, alluding to the situation of “national emergency”. The minister has asked “not to play” with the terms because the law speaks of “emergency of national interest”, a level 3 that, as he said, has never been activated in Spain.
“In this country an emergency of national interest has never been adopted; in no case, not even in Lorca”, Marlaska has maintained, adding that the Government “from the very first moment” has offered the means previously requested by the emergency management, which corresponds to the Generalitat Valenciana.
This has been so with “all the means of the State and all international means”, continued Marlaska, citing the activation, at the request of the Government, of the European Civil Protection Mechanism.
European Civil Protection Mechanism
Marlaska has pointed out that he could provide “evidence” that it was the central government that had to insist to the Generalitat to activate this European aid, something that was offered “the first day of the emergency”. “It was activated on Friday almost already because we told him that we were requesting it,” he said.
In this sense, he has defended that the civil protection system in Spain has “strength and an important nerve”. because it is based on “co-governance” with the autonomous communities, which are in charge in an emergency.
“Another thing is that some autonomous governments make omission and, above all, in recent years, as has happened in the Valencian Government,” he pointed out after recalling that the law regulating the civil protection system was approved unanimously by the PP in 2015 and was “developed” normatively from 2018, with the current Government.