The General Treasury Inspectorate (IGF) issued a positive opinion on the payment of the second tranche of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), amounting to some two billion euros, now after Portugal’s request to Brussels.
“We gave a positive opinion to the second request for payment,” Finance Inspector General António Ferreira dos Santos said in parliament, during a hearing at the subcommittee on monitoring European funds and PRR.
Speaking to Lusa at the end of the parliamentary hearing, the Inspector General of Finance explained that the positive opinion of the IGF was delivered on Friday to the structure of the Recover Portugal Mission, which will send the formal request for payment to Brussels.
“The request for payment will be sent to Brussels, after the issuance of this audit and control opinion,” said António Ferreira os Santos.
About two billion euros are at stake, of which 1,967 million euros are non-refundable support and 125 million are related to loans, the inspector general said.
The first disbursement of the PRR was approved in March by the European Commission and paid in May, amounting to 1,160 million euros, was approved on March 25 by the European Commission, of which 553.44 million in subsidies and 609 million in euros in loans.
Disbursement occurs after recovery fund goals are met.
During the hearing, the inspector general provided data on the opinions issued in recent years by the IGF as the auditing authority of the Member States for community funds.
According to António Ferreira dos Santos, the IGF expects that, between 2022 and 2027, “more than 200 audit opinions will be drawn up and that transfers in Portugal will reach 70,000 million euros”.
Between 2015 and 2020, 191 audit opinions were issued that validated 22.8 billion euros, he said.
In response to the deputies, who expressed concern about the human resources of the IGF, taking into account the volume of work, António Ferreira dos Santos said that the hiring of 20 more inspectors was completed, considered “the most important reinforcement in recent years.” for the organism.
Source: Observadora
