The parliament of the Azores unanimously issued an “unfavorable” opinion to the changes proposed by the Government of the Republic to the diploma that regulates the granting of the social mobility subsidy, granted on air links between the continent and the autonomous regions.
The opinion of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, sent on Monday to the Secretary of State for Infrastructure, was signed by the eight parties with parliamentary seats (PSD, PS, Chega, CDS, PPM, BE, IL and PAN), opposing the draft ordinance proposed by the Luís Montenegro executive, which defines a maximum eligible limit of 600 euros for plane tickets between the Azores and the continent.
“The Permanent Commission Specialized in Economics decided unanimously to give an unfavorable opinion to this initiative,” reads the document sent by Parliament, to which Lusa had access.
The deputies of the Azores understand that the new regulations imposed by the Republic “condition the mobility of Azoreans” and “call into question the principle of territorial continuity”, in addition to “constituting a setback in passenger air transport”.
The PSD representation in the Economy Commission even understands that it is possible to simplify and reduce bureaucracy in the current model of social mobility subsidy, and that resident passengers “only have to pay, at the time of contracting the trip, the part of the cost that corresponds to them.” that suits them”, currently set at 134 euros, and not the total cost of the trip.
The PS deputies regret that the Government of the Republic has published a decree that determines changes in the rules of the social mobility subsidy without having waited for the results of a working group, created at the national level, that is studying the matter.
For the socialists, any change in this matter should have the broad consensus of all regional authorities and not be imposed, in this unilateral way, by the Republic.
The Left Bloc goes further and recalls, in the opinion sent by Parliament, that the effects of the first decree published by the Republic, at the end of September, should be considered null and that no passenger should be sanctioned for it.
The draft ordinance now sent to the parliament of the Azores by the Government of the Republic replaces another ordinance (no. 234/2024/A) of September 26, with the same content, but which was published without due consultation with the bodies regulators of the Azores government. the region.
“Due to a procedural error, before the publication of the ordinance, the Regional Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores was heard and not its Regional Legislative Assembly, contrary to what was determined by Law No. 40/96, of August 31, in its current wording,” explains the national executive of the PSD/CDS-PP, in the project sent to the parliament of the archipelago.
The Government of the Republic justifies the change in the rules for air travel between the Azores and the continent by alleging that the methodology for calculating the subsidy was “inadequate”which results in an “increase in the average eligible cost” of the ticket.
In the Azores, until the end of September, the The subsidy allowed residents of the archipelago to travel to the peninsula with a maximum air ticket of 134 euros (round trip) regardless of the sales value. It was only necessary to initially purchase the ticket at the retail price and, once the trip was completed, the total amount above this target of 134 euros was reimbursed by the State.
With the recently introduced change, if the sale price of the trip exceeds 600 euros, the passenger will already be responsible for the amount above that limit.in addition to 134 euros.
For students displaced from the Azores, the limit is 99 euros, that is, the subsidy corresponds to the difference between the cost of the ticket and the maximum of 99 euros for a round trip.
In Madeira, a cost of 86 euros was set for residents for round-trip connections with the peninsula, a value that may increase if the trip exceeds the maximum limit of 400 euros.
Most residents in Madeira also have to pay for the trip to the airlines at the time of purchase and can only receive a refund at the end, so they only have to pay the fixed price. Students have the option of paying only 65 euros when purchasing a ticket if they do so at a travel agency.
Source: Observadora
