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Spain’s ecological transition minister, a candidate for a top European Commission post, on Wednesday said questioning the role of state agencies during the country’s devastating floods was “dangerous”.
The state weather and environment services have faced intense scrutiny over their response to the October 29 disaster that wreaked widespread destruction and killed 227 people.
The leader of the hardest-hit Valencia region defended his handling of the catastrophe last week, citing an “information blackout” and criticising a central government agency responsible for monitoring river levels.
Regions are in charge of disaster management in Spain’s decentralised political system, but the Valencia region’s conservative leader Carlos Mazon said he received “insufficient, inaccurate and late” information.
Doubting the state agencies was “unfair and deeply dangerous”, Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera told parliament, in a veiled retort to the conservative opposition.
“I would like to thank the work and dedication of the public servants who issued the information as was their duty,” added Ribera.
Ribera’s socialist-led government has argued Mazon bore responsibility for the late issuing of an emergency alert.
Anger has coursed through Spain over the authorities’ perceived mishandling of the country’s deadliest floods in decades and further polarised its politics, which has spilled over at EU level.
The European Parliament has blocked Ribera’s appointment to an influential commission role encompassing environment and competition, with Spain’s right-wing Popular Party (PP) accusing her of neglecting her duties during the floods.
The conservative EPP parliamentary group to which the PP belongs refused to approve her nomination until she reported to the Spanish parliament.
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