The Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) has an initial endowment of 607 million euros for 2025, 68 million euros less compared to 2024, according to the State Budget proposal (OE). Since 2018, the planned budget for the FCT has not been this low.
The initial budget of the FCT, the main entity dependent on the Government that finances scientific research in Portugal, is included in the explanatory note of the OE2025 proposal for the higher education, science and innovation sector, available on the Parliament portal.
The document supports the specialized evaluation of the OE2025 proposal, which, in the case of science, higher education and innovation, is scheduled for Tuesday with the hearing in Parliament of the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre.
According to the document, The reduction in the total budget planned for the FCT in 2025 is partly justified by the decrease in the percentage of European funds. (which totals 114 million euros, 29 million less compared to 2024).
On the other hand, the FCT accounts for next year do not include extra-budgetary operations, which in the initial allocations for 2024 amounted to 65 million euros.
“Until 2024, the FCT received funds from the European Regional Development Fund and transferred them to public administration entities, classifying these funds as extrabudgetary operations. In 2025, with the transition from PT2020 to PT2030 [fundos europeus]It is not planned that FCT will be the paying entity, this responsibility being the responsibility of the Development and Cohesion Agency,” highlights the explanatory note.
The document highlights the contribution of the increase in tax revenue to the initial budget of the FCT for 2025, which amounts to 486 million euros (26 million more than in 2024).
An increase of this type will allow “new scientific policies to be reinforced, with the financing of new projects, agreements and research associations,” states the explanatory note, without applying the measures.
According to the document, more than half of the planned budget for the FCT (381 million euros) is mainly allocated to finance research projects, international partnerships, fixed-term and permanent employment contracts (the latter within the framework of the recent FCT program -Tenure).
Around a third of the initial allocations (158 million euros) are mainly intended to pay for doctoral scholarships, the explanatory note describes, highlighting that in 2024 there were 7,306 scholarship recipients.
Relative to 2024, the FCT’s planned budget for 2025 includes an additional €20 million for doctoral scholarships.
The Government considers that, “in the past, the FCT had a budget allocation that was lower than its needs and commitments, which sometimes had consequences such as the loss of Portugal’s rights in international organizations”, such as the “right to vote in the European Space”. Agency”.
According to official statistics, the FCT’s budget forecast in 2025 is the worst since 2018, the year in which initial allocations amounted to 566.15 million euros.
After 2022, the year in which the FCT’s initial budget decreased by 32 million euros compared to 2021, totaling 636 million euros, 2025 is the year with the largest drop in the planned allocations, in the order of 68 million euros.
In the explanatory note, the executive highlights that FCT managed to “liquidate all its debt until June”, which then amounted to 98.7 million euros (55.8 million corresponding to arrears from 2024 and 42.9 million corresponding to arrears of years above) and intended for higher education and scientific research institutions.
The OE2025 proposal was approved by the Parliament at large on October 31. The final global vote is scheduled for November 29, after the discussion in the specialty and the presentation of the amendment contributions by the parties.
Source: Observadora
