The Secretary of State for the Economy guarantees that the Government does not want to “be a barrier”, but rather “create the conditions for investment” and wants to move forward with a “continuous alert strategy” for companies
The Secretary of State for the Economy, João Rui Ferreira, reiterated this Sunday “the Government’s commitment” to guarantee, by the end of the year, the analysis of applications for European funds within 60 days and payments within 30 days.
“There is a commitment, which is public, from the Government – and we are working hard to achieve it – which is to analyse the applications within 60 days and the payments within 30 days by the end of the year. That is why we have to make a huge effort from everyone to get there,” said the official in statements to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the Portuguese delegation present at the Micam footwear fair in Milan.
Stressing that the role of the executive is not to “be a barrier” but to “create the conditions for investment”, the Secretary of State also announced the intention to move forward with a “continuous alert strategy, so that companies can make investments when it is most opportune for the business and not when it is most opportune for the alert plan”.
“The logic has to be based on the dynamics of the market and not on the dynamics of the support structure. This is a job that has to be done involving various State bodies and various components of our government action,” he said.
João Rui Ferreira said that he felt, during his visit to Portuguese companies in Micam, that the sector is available for investment”, but acknowledged that he was asked for “more efficiency in terms of the action of the public administration and the institutions that coordinate it”.
“Our connection and consultation with companies and associations has been constant,” he assured, stressing that the Government’s objective is to be “agile in responses and payments,” so that it is not “on the administration’s side where there are barriers for companies to develop their business.”
Moments later, on the sidelines of the same visit, the spokesperson for the Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and their Substitutes (APICCAPS) considered that this government guarantee “is an excellent measure for companies” in the sector.
“It is an excellent measure for companies and an incentive for more companies to join promotion initiatives abroad,” said Paulo Gonçalves, highlighting that “foreign trade promotion is a priority for a sector that exports more than 90% of its production,” but that the participation of companies in the main international events involves “a very significant investment.”
According to the Secretary of State for the Economy, when the new Government took office it detected “some issues” regarding the deadlines for the analysis of applications for European funds and the respective payments, issues that “were being corrected.”
“From the point of view of tools, of platforms, we are acting strongly,” he stressed, assuring that “the news is positive” and that the process “is better,” but reiterating the “commitment” to “accelerate much more.”
In this regard, the APICCAPS spokesperson stated that the association is “aware that there are always some delays in the transition phase of community support frameworks” and that, for this reason, “it warned companies from the outset that this would happen”, but stressed that, “finally, the new platform is already operational”.
“We are now in a position to submit expenses, so all these processes and requests will be normalized very soon,” he said.
After a 2023 “of strong containment” and a 2024 “of transition” – until June this year Portugal exported 35 million pairs of shoes worth 818 million euros, corresponding to year-on-year declines of 1.8% and 15.2% respectively – the Portuguese footwear sector expects 2025 to be “a year of strong affirmation in international markets”.
“We hope that Micam will be a new dawn. We find the movement in the corridors very interesting and we see clear signs of recovery in the international markets,” said the APICCAPS spokesperson.
According to Paulo Gonçalves, “low interest rates and normalised inflation are good news” for the sector, as “they could serve as a stimulus to consumption”, boosting company orders and export performance.
Source: Observadora
