The President of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) defended this Saturday emergency measures to support municipalities so that the impact of inflation and rising energy costs does not upset the balance of municipal accounts.
At the opening of the National Assembly of Mayors in Viseu, Luisa Salgueiro said that the consequences caused by rising inflation and energy prices “are such that they demand and recommend that the government also take emergency measures for the county.”
Mayor Matosinhos said that in the 2023 state budget, the government “will have to go further so that local governments can fulfill their responsibilities – old, traditional and new – but still keep records in order.”
“It is important, and we will tell the government, the role of protecting people who put this in the first place is crucial, and companies, but it is also time to deal with the municipalities,” the ANMP President stressed, highlighting the difficulties that it makes sense for municipalities to respond to all situations .
Luisa Salgueiro also mentioned the new conditions for municipalities resulting from the new emergency price review regime “and the fact that companies did not take into account the impact of inflation on commodity prices.
“Special legislation has been published so that we can make emergency price revisions, but the municipalities have to pay, and what happens is that this impact is often not taken into account, and again the country does not respond uniformly. small municipalities are having great difficulty balancing their budgets,” he warned.
The ANMP President emphasized that the mayors do not waive “demanding all conditions”, so that now, taking care of the situation of the companies, it is also guaranteed that “the municipalities will not see their situation unbalanced due to this emergency regime.” .
Regarding the ongoing process of decentralization, which will be the subject of discussion and debate in the afternoon, Luisa Salgueiro said that the ANMP is moving forward so that “there are no failures and that the municipalities are not punished for their actions.” accounts in this step.
“At this stage, our focus is on balancing the accounts and ensuring that the agreement that we reached at the end of June, which will now have implications for the state budget and our municipal budgets, is profoundly different from the rules that were previously in place and ensure that in This balance has been ensured in various sectors,” he said.
Stressing that the process is not complete and there are “many problems” to be solved, the leader added that this month and October will be a period dedicated to the conclusion of a new agreement in the social sphere.
The National Assembly of Mayors takes place during the day this Saturday in Viseu with local administration and funding, as well as decentralization of powers.
Ana Abruñosa, Minister of Territorial Unity, Ana Abruñosa presides over the closing session, scheduled for 18:00.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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