The PSD/Azores considered this Friday that the PS reveals “absolute ignorance” about the definition of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), after the Socialists guaranteed that the coalition government “had nine months to redefine” the document.
On Thursday, the PS/Azores said that the statements made by the regional Treasury Secretary (from the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition executive) on the application of the PRR were “false”.
PS/Azores answers “false” statements by the Secretary of Finance of the regional government on the Recovery and Resilience Plan
On Wednesday, the official, Duarte Freitas, had mentioned that the PRR represents “zero euros” for the regional authorities, but assured that they will receive 160 million euros in the community framework of 2030 and said that the document designed by the XII Government of the Azores (the first, socialist) is “impossible to change”.
In reaction to the statements of the Azorean socialists, the general secretary of the PSD/Azores said that the PS reveals “absolute ignorance” about the definition of the PRR, especially with regard to the Azores and the municipalities, regretting “the position” of the socialists
Quoted in a press release, the general secretary of the PSD/Azores, Luís Pereira, explains that the preliminary version of the PRR was published on October 15, 2020, “already with the funds defined at 580 million euros, with the forecast of the competition of the mobilizing agendas and with the proposed components also defined”.
“The preliminary version was shared with Brussels on that date and it was only in the transition from 2020 to 2021 that the new Regional Government was invited to participate in negotiations and meetings with the Republic, to densify and develop the existing proposals,” he says. .
According to the manager, “there were only two months for the development of measures until the public consultation in February and four months before the presentation to Brussels“.
“That is to say, does the Socialist Party consider it responsible that, in that short space of time, a document that took a year to negotiate with them has been altered?”, he asks.
The Social Democrat also maintains that the PS’s statements “reveal a complete ignorance of the process“, and points out that it is only possible to make changes to the PRR through an understanding between the Government of the Republic and the European Commission. However, remember, the execution period determines that the investments are completed by the end of 2025.
“In other words, even if there is a specific change in 2023, which allows access to the municipalities, they will have very little time to make any investment,” says Luís Pereira.
As for the Azores 2030 Program, of community funds, “and as was the case in the Azores 2020 Operational Program, there is no specific axis for the municipalities, since their eligibility is dispersed by the types of investment available,” he adds.
The PSD considers that, in the parliamentary debate on the Azores 2030, in March, “the possible eligibility of the municipalities, which is 130 million euros, was made clear”.
“The PS, however, mistakenly, in its parliamentary sessions in February, insisted that it was 66 million euros,” he says.
Source: Observadora
