Economic growth to boost revenue and guarantee the Social State

The "aim of the priority given to economic growth is to boost revenue and guarantee the Social State – schooling, health, housing, mobility, culture, and sports", said the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion Manuel Castro Almeida when discussing the Government Programme in Parliament.

"With this transformative drive, we must face and remove structural obstacles that unnerve investors, discourage merit, and penalise productivity", he added.

The Minister stated that the commitment "is to grow in a sustained manner above the European average, on the path to convergence, adding that "the war on bureaucracy and its labyrinths is a prerequisite in the struggle for companies’ competitiveness, the only way to ensure better wages." 

Economic Growth

Castro Almeida stressed that "it is necessary to transform innovation and scientific knowledge into companies’ invoices and create an economy with high international connectivity capable to attract foreign direct investment". 

Accordingly, "we need a tax system that favours investment and reinvestment", "labour law that allows companies to quickly adapt to market changes, respecting families and work/life balance", and "a vocational training offer that meets the market needs and its permanent transformation".

"The State can and should do more", he said, noting "assisting companies financially, boosting loans on exports insurance and approving guarantees quicker through the Portuguese Development Bank."

It must also "decisively invest in exporting goods and services, aiming for an amount close to 55% of GDP percentage in 2029" and "must revise the insolvency schemes, to streamline them".

European funds

The Minister stated that "the proper management of European funds is the bridge between the potential we have and the future we want. Each European euro must be expressed in the country’s transformation".

The 7th RRF payment request "is ready for submission. It is pending approval of the 6th request, which should take place in the coming weeks", and the 8th request will be submitted within schedule, prior the end of this year", he said, adding that "the RRF is not running late". 

However, according to the scheduling done 4 years ago, "we must conclude in 2026 as many RRF targets and milestones as the ones we’ve concluded so far." "It will be a highly demanding and challenging year", yet "the Government adopted in its recent RRF reprogramming mechanisms that will allow us the necessary flexibility to ensure Portugal will not lose a single euro".