Minister of the economy and territorial cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, has warned today that Portugal must learn to live with less European funding and to channel a larger share of the State Budget towards investment.
He was speaking in Lisbon at the press conference where 100% implementation of the PRR, Plan for Recovery and Resilience was announced, warning that the future will involve “less money from European funds.”
His words came just as former Socialist prime minister, now president of the European Council, António Costa, is touring member states, trying to get consensus over the next multiannual financial framework 2028-2034, in the context that northern member states do not want to have to contribute more money, and seek instead savings, in the realm of “several hundreds of billions of euros”.
The minister had already confirmed that Portugal met the deadline for implementing the PRR, given that all reforms have been fully implemented, the milestones and targets have been fully met, and more than €16 billion in funding has been secured.
The loan component – which stands at around €5.5 billion – will also be fully implemented, “barring any unforeseen circumstance”.
The deadline for implementing the PRR – described by the minister as “the largest public administration project ever” – expires on Monday.
The PRR was designed to implement a series of post-pandemic reforms and investments with a view to restoring economic growth.
As well as aiming to repair the damage caused by Covid-19, the plan was intended to support investment and create jobs.
source : LUSA