The Youth Minister today thanked Maria Luis Albuquerque for her willingness to take on the role of European Commissioner for Portugal and remembered her as the person who freed Portugal from the troika.
Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister of Youth and Modernization and Vice President of the PSD, was the guest speaker at today’s dinner as part of a conference at the PSD Summer University, an initiative to train young people politically.
On the day Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced that the government would nominate the former finance minister for the post of European Commissioner, the former JSD leader ended her speech with a reference to the topic of the day and, after several questions, was asked about the role of women in society.
“My conscience would be hurt if I did not take the opportunity to talk about an extraordinary woman. I know Maria Luis Albuquerque well, she is a woman, a very competent woman, very dedicated, very hard-working. She had the difficult task of freeing us from the troika, and we should be grateful that we can count on her willingness to carry out this public service,” she said, declaring that she is “very proud of herself as a woman and not only.”
In her initial speech, the minister reviewed some of the measures already announced by the government on youth issues and challenged opposition parties on another one that she hopes will come into force on January 1 next year: a move to reduce the IRS for young people under 35 by one third, to a maximum of 15%.
“Right now, the decision is up to the Assembly of the Republic and the opposition parties. And there are questions that are important to ask: does the country want to keep young Portuguese in Portugal? (…) The government wants them to stay here, it remains to be seen whether other parties will too,” he said.
Margarida Balseiro Lopes also took the opportunity to provide an update on another executive measure for young people: the exemption from taxes on the purchase of a first home, effective August 1.
“In 27 days of this measure, we have managed to reach almost 500 young people in Portugal, 458 young people to be exact,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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