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Three associations representing victims of the storm that caused hundreds of deaths in the province of Valencia last October travelled to Brussels, to meet representatives from European institutions.<\/p>\n
The victims of the so-called “Dana” had the opportunity to share their experiences and\u00a0 the challenges they are still facing in four different meetings, with the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, the vice-president Teresa Ribera, the European Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola and a cross-party group of MEPs.<\/p>\n
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The associations were “Asociaci\u00f3n V\u00edctimas Mortales Dana 29-0,” “Associaci\u00f3 de V\u00edctimes de la Dana 29 d’Octubre de 2024″ and Asociaci\u00f3n Damnificados de la Dana Horta Sud Valencia.” <\/p>\n
The former focuses exclusively on the people who died during the floods and the consequences for their families.<\/p>\n
“Our beloved have not died from an illness, or in an accident. They died because of incompetence, because no one knew how to do their job, and even worse, because [the people in charge] deny climate change,” the association’s president Rosa Mar\u00eda \u00c1lvarez Gil told Euronews.<\/p>\n
The president and her vice-president Carmina Gil considered the meetings satisfactory and described von der Leyen and Metsola as “People with closeness, with empathy, and eager to listen.”<\/p>\n
Metsola was the more committed one, \u00c1lvarez Gil explains, as she promised “a direct intervention” with the regional Valencia government and asked for a report of all the issues faced by the victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Von der Leyen granted the associations’ representatives a warm welcome and a long conversation, even beyond the schedule.<\/p>\n
“Von der Leyen is one of the promoters of the Green Deal and is very committed to tackling climate change. She told us she fully supports our claims and criticizes, without any specific reference, the governments that don\u2019t follow climate action policies.”<\/p>\n
The President of the European Commission was in Valencia a few weeks ago when she joined the European People’s Party Congress, and she was requested to meet the victims, but the meeting was postponed and moved to Brussels.<\/p>\n
Following the meeting, von der Leyen wrote on X that this guide EU’s preparations for the future.<\/p>\n