This Friday, the government assured that it was in “very close discussions” with the European Commission on the reprogramming of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) in terms of funding and adaptation projects, hoping it would be completed this year.
“We always [em conversações] is very close with the European Commission and therefore all aspects of the reprogramming are being considered, not only in terms of funds, but also the adequacy of some projects, and we believe that this will be successfully completed,” said the Minister of Economy, António Costa Silva.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of an official visit to the Mercadona logistics block in Almeirim, Santarem district, the official spoke of a “big task” that he believes will be “resolved within this year.”
“I don’t know exactly what the time frame is because this is the secretary of state for planning who deals directly with the European Commission, but we attended the meeting precisely in order to provide elements that structure our argument for doing reprogramming, and I hope that this will happen,” António Costa Silva stressed.
A source close to the process explained to Lusa that Portugal must first complete a review of the plan with the European Commission, including a chapter on investment in the REPowerEU energy package, before submitting the next request for payment.
Portugal is currently the sixth country in the European Union with the largest amount of funds raised for PRR, around €5.14 billion (€4.07 billion in grants and €1.07 billion in loans), ranking fourth with the most high level of execution with a speed of 17%. , according to the latest data from the European Commission on the implementation of plans at the European level.
An official source from community leadership told Lusa that Portugal’s PRR implementation is “fully on track”, indicating that it is tracking 38 more milestones and tasks for the country to receive the new payment.
In response, António Costa Silva said that “PRR implementation is in line with what was programmed” and a 32% completion rate is expected by the end of this year.
“If we achieve this, it will be a very important signal for the future,” he added.
Highlighting the “massive response of Portuguese companies” to the PRR, António Costa Silva emphasized the need to “have the funds for this” and “for other sectors” so “all this will be taken into account” in the reprogramming, which is taking place in an “absolutely transformative time” of high inflation, energy crisis and war in Ukraine.
So far, Portugal has already received the first two payments of €1.82 billion in February 2023 and €1.16 billion in May 2022, to which are added €2.2 billion of pre-financing in August 2021, amounts that include grants. and loans.
To date, the country has collected 31% of the total funds.
These payments occur after the community leader considers that Portugal has met 52 milestones and six targets associated with its first and second payment requests.
The Portuguese PRR has a total allocation of €16.6 billion, with €13.9 billion in grants and €2.7 billion in loans.
In February 2021, the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism came into force in the EU to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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