The prime minister informed the president of the republic yesterday that he is “in no hurry” to know his decision on the housing legislative package, which is now in Marcelo’s hands for adoption (or veto).
“It’s not a problem if [Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa] statement on the diploma only after the holiday. We all deserve a good vacation and the President of the Republic, a very active man, also deserves a rest,” António Costa told journalists during a visit to the factories of Teatro Nacional D.ª Maria.
The head of government believed that there is “no rush” and that the President of the Republic “has time in peace to evaluate the diplomas and then decide what he wants to decide on them”. When asked if he fears that the diploma will be vetoed, he does not immediately respond, since the head of state “has his own powers and will exercise them”. “I am not here to speculate, nor to condition in any way the exercise of his own powers by the President of the Republic.”
Costa acknowledged that “there is a serious national housing crisis” that needs to be responded to and defended that while there are “one possible answers”, the Mais Habitação program has “a very diverse range of interventions targeting the private , cooperative sector and also to municipalities and the state”.
As he emphasized, “the diploma approved in the Assembly of the Republic is one of the elements of this program”, but now we have to wait for “what the President of the Republic has to say”. “The word crisis is often used in vain, but if there is an issue to which the word crisis applies, it has to do with housing,” he defended, insisting that “the result of different circumstances, a combination of different factors, the cost of housing has risen very substantially, whether homeownership or rent”.
Costa believed that “the deterioration in interest rates by the European Central Bank has not made the situation any easier and that it is necessary to create a series of incentives so that houses that are not on the market are put on the market and that land not used for construction, and that there is more public promotion of housing in order to regulate the market” – “and above all to make housing more accessible, especially for the younger generations”.
At another point in his time, during a visit to the Convent of Christ, in Tomar, the Prime Minister stressed that the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), with an allocation of 283 million euros for the Culture area, represents a “unique opportunity” to strengthen the cultural sector and improve the territories. And as for the performance in general, he assured: “We are not late. We are at the right time so that everything can be done on time.”
However, he said at the same time that this issue of delay “depends on the point of view”. “If we are in a monument that is six centuries old and has never had a major intervention, we can say that yes, the PRR was certainly five centuries late. , we say we are in a good time.”
There will be no problem if [o chefe de Estado] statement on the diploma only after the holiday. We all deserve a good holiday and the President of the Republic, a very active man, also deserves a rest.
I am not going to speculate here, nor am I going to determine in any way the exercise of his own powers by the President of the Republic.
The word crisis is often used in vain, but if there is a subject where the word crisis is appropriate, it has to do with housing.
The deterioration in interest rates by the European Central Bank has not made the situation any easier and it is necessary to create a series of incentives so that houses that are not on the market are put on the market (…) and make housing more accessible, especially for the younger generations.
Antonio Costa,
Prime Minister
Source: DN
