The Economic and Social Council of the Azores (CESA) warned on Tuesday of the “problem of sustainability of regional public finances” due to the fragility of the region’s own revenues, which require new “internal and external” solutions.
“My main concern is the sustainability of public finances. It is important that we find internal and external solutions in the Azores to make our public finances sustainable,” said outgoing CESA President Gualter Furtado.
The economist was speaking at the headquarters of the regional government presidency in Ponta Delgada after a meeting with the leader of the Azores executive (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), José Manuel Bolieiro, who is listening to parties and organisations on the region’s budget for 2025.
In his last statement on the regional budget as CESA leader (since he will be replaced by Piedade Lalanda), Gualter Furtado said that it is necessary to “give more space” to the business sector so that the “economy can pay taxes” and “increase its own income.”
“I am not being catastrophic or predicting doom, but there is no doubt that we have a problem with the sustainability of public finances. Our own revenues are very weak compared to the amount of public debt,” he stressed, also defending the revision of the Regional Finance Act.
The current CESA president also called for policies to combat the “demographic winter” on many of the Azores islands, highlighting the role of immigrants in mitigating the effects of the “highly negative natural balance”.
“It is necessary that the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in a rational but decisive manner, have an immigration policy and cooperation with the Association of Immigrants of the Azores that helps our demographic problem,” he stressed.
The CESA official also defended “positive discrimination” towards the “most fragile islands” of the archipelago, warning of the need to have an efficient maritime transport network.
On this occasion, Gualter Furtado thanked the workers and social actors for the work carried out during the five years in which he led CESA.
The President of the Government of the Azores began on Monday a round of meetings with parties, social partners and associations with a view to preparing the Plan and Budget for 2025, which will be discussed and voted on at the Regional Assembly in November.
The executive that emerged from the early legislative elections of 4 February governs the region without an absolute majority in the Azorean parliament and therefore needs the support of another party or parties with parliamentary seats to approve its proposals.
In the February elections, PSD, CDS-PP and PPM elected 26 deputies, three short of an absolute majority. The PS is the second largest force in the archipelago, with 23 mandates, followed by Chega, with five. BE, IL and PAN each elected one regional deputy, completing the 57 elected.
Source: Observadora
