Brussels, Feb. 2,2026 (Lusa) - The European Commission has not received any requests from Portugal to amend the Recovery and Resilience Plan in the regions affected by Storm Kristin, or to activate the European civil protection mechanism, and instead urges the use of the solidarity fund.
"Portugal has not yet requested an amendment to the Recovery and Resilience Plan [PRR]. It can still do so, but all revised milestones and targets would have to be implemented by the August 2026 deadline. Portugal has the possibility to amend the recovery plan, [but] no request has yet been made," said the spokesperson for the EU executive for Cohesion and Reforms, Maciej Berestecki, at the institution's daily press conference in Brussels.
The European Commission's chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, acknowledged that "the assessment of the damage is still ongoing and, unfortunately, more adverse weather conditions are forecast for the coming days, which means that further damage may still occur", but considered that, "ideally, the funds that would apply in a situation like this are the Solidarity Fund and the cohesion policy funds".
For Paula Pinho, "even more appropriate" than amending the RRP is to use the European Union (EU) Solidarity Fund, a financial instrument designed to support Member States and candidate countries affected by major natural disasters or health emergencies.
Furthermore, "I can confirm that, to date, Portugal has not activated the civil protection mechanism," said Paula Pinho, in response to questions from Lusa, in reference to the EU's rapid assistance instrument.
Maciej Berestecki explained that "there are two other instruments that can be used to respond to the damage that has affected Portugal".
"Firstly, the European Union Solidarity Fund, which can be requested by Portugal, and Portugal has 12 weeks to submit its application" after an estimate of the damage, with Brussels then assessing and proposing a payment, which must be approved by the Council and Parliament (co-legislators).
Another instrument concerns cohesion policy funds, "which can be reprogrammed by Portugal to respond to the damage caused by the storm," explained the spokesperson, alluding to the change in the plans in place to address the challenges.
As for the RRP, Maciej Berestecki indicated that it would always be necessary for the EU government to "analyse the situation when the changes were proposed".
"Therefore, at this stage, I cannot anticipate what could be done with the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It would be necessary to analyse the changes proposed by Portugal, and then we would know more," he concluded.
On Saturday, presidential candidate António José Seguro considered it "regrettable", “inconceivable” and "unimaginable" that the European Commission would not extend the RRP deadlines to help rebuild the regions affected by Storm Kristin.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said that Portugal would carry out all ongoing investments under the RRP, despite the destruction caused by Storm Kristin's passage across mainland Portugal.
Even so, he said that the government was in contact with the European Commission to find the best model for the country to comply with the PRR.
The passage of Storm Kristin through mainland Portugal on Wednesday caused at least five deaths, according to the Civil Protection Agency, as well as several injuries, displaced persons, and damage estimated at millions of euros, with damage assessments still ongoing.
In total, the Portuguese RRP is worth €22.2 billion, with €16.3 billion in grants and €5.9 billion in loans from the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
ANE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
