On May 13th, Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola met in Brussels with representatives of three victims’ associations linked to the flooding disaster resulting from the DANA (Isolated High-Level Depression) that struck Valencia on October 29th, 2024. The meeting, held at the request of the associations following von der Leyen’s visit to Valencia during the European People’s Party (EPP) Congress, served as the setting for the delivery of a lengthy letter addressed to the President of the European Commission. The document reflects the testimonies of affected families and includes both political and financial demands. However, its content has sparked controversy due to its accusatory tone, omission of key actors, and alignment with very specific ideological positions.
In the letter, the associations accuse the president of the Generalitat Valenciana (autonomous government of the Valencian community), Carlos Mazón, of negligence. They demand that von der Leyen publicly condemn Mazón and even call for his replacement as regional leader of the Partido Popular (PP). Meanwhile, not a single mention is made of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, despite the fact that the national government took more than 72 hours to activate response protocols. Nor is there any reference to Teresa Ribera, who at the time was Spain’s third vice president and head of climate policy, and who today serves as European Commissioner for a Just Transition. Her role—like that of the entire national government—has been completely omitted from the narrative presented to Brussels.
Beyond the partial assigning of blame, the letter openly advocates for a strengthening of European climate policies, calling for direct supervision from Brussels and the explicit condemnation of “climate denialism” by regional governments. This is particularly paradoxical given that one of the issues that exacerbated the catastrophe was the inability to carry out basic maintenance, such as cleaning riverbeds, due to environmental restrictions imposed by existing regulations.
Among the signatory associations, the Associació Víctimes de la DANA 29 d’Octubre stands out, chaired by Mariló Gradolí, a journalist, former advisor to and candidate for the Compromís party. Though Gradolí and her circle deny any political manipulation, her background raises doubt about her impartiality, especially since the letter mirrors arguments that align fully with Compromís’ political platform and its opposition to the PP-led regional government.
It’s not clear that all involved associations are pushing a partisan agenda. The Associació Víctimes Mortals DANA 29-O, for example, has so far maintained a line focused on calls for aid and visibility. Still, the coordinated effort behind the joint letter and its consistent message, solely blaming the Generalitat, hints at a carefully crafted narrative that does not capture the full complexity of the case.
After the meeting, von der Leyen published a message in Valencian on her social media account, thanking the victims for sharing their testimonies, and emphasized that the EU “shows solidarity, supporting recovery today and resilience for tomorrow.” For her part, Metsola pledged to contact Carlos Mazón personally to relay the concerns of the victims. The European Commission is also continuing to assess the aid request submitted by the Spanish government in January, totaling €4.404 billion, of which an advance of €100 million has already been granted from the European Solidarity Fund.
