The President of the Republic will now reflect on the arguments presented to him last night, at an audience in Almancil, with the Platform and the Free Algarve of Petroleum Movement.
After the meeting, which lasted for two hours, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he had collected "a lot of data of all kinds" and that he will "now naturally compare it with other data, weigh them and take them into account when considering this matter. ».
According to the Head of State, he was presented with "legal, economic, financial, environmental, short, medium and long term, and also political" arguments.
"To take so long, it was because it was worth listening to the arguments", explained the President to journalists, when asked if the arguments were weighty. «I will now analyze these arguments carefully», he concluded, after the hearing, which took place at the Almancil Parish Council.
The Algarve Livre de Petróleo Platform (PALP), which brings together the main environmental non-governmental organizations, as well as movements, companies and individuals who oppose the exploration of hydrocarbons off the coast of Aljezur, has already reacted to this audience, revealing, in a statement, that "the President expressed concern and interest in the questions raised and in the gathering of responses".
In the meeting with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Platform highlighted "the negative consequences and risks of prospecting and consequent exploration of oil in Portugal".
PALP members informed the President "some details of the role that the State is playing in defending the private interest of companies", since, in their perspective, "the gains are only for the concessionary companies, to the detriment of the interest public".
The PALP also called for "special attention to the state of democracy, when the government chooses to ignore objections presented in public consultations, as well as opinions from municipalities and prior consultation opinions."
He also questioned "how can a Ministry of the Environment defend a polluting activity in an area proposed as a Protected Maritime Area and surrounded by protected areas, when the law requires a case-by-case assessment".
Another argument presented to President Marcelo was “to emphasize that this is a seismic zone and that the risks imposed on us can never be compensated. How to assign a value to the region in this exchange?”
On the other hand, «when we live in the region, with the consequences of the fires in Monchique, we questioned the confidence in the environmental management of the State».
PALP also appealed "to the precautionary principle that governs risk activities" and recalled "the agreements to reduce climate change and the urgency of an energy plan for the country, with priority for sustainable solutions, in an effective defense of the environment."
Now, the Platform awaits "the intervention of the Presidency in defending the region and the country against this threat to the region and to democracy", "so that Portugal can preserve the clean sea and the healthy environment that defines us and to which we are entitled, but also the duty to defend».
«In the midst of the XNUMXst century, it is urgent to put the country at the forefront of renewables and truly fight against climate change», concludes the Algarve Livre de Petróleo Platform, in the statement that the Sul Informação had access.
During the rest of the day, the President of the Republic visited the areas burned by the great Perna da Negra fire, in the municipalities of Monchique and Silves, and, after the meeting with opponents of oil exploration, still visited the Medieval Fair of Silves.
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