The housing minister said on Friday that the letter sent by the government to the European Commission identifies housing as a priority that applies “across Europe”, in a list that aims to define “the major common challenges”.
According to Marina Gonçalves, in Entroncamento (Santarém), on the sidelines of a visit to urban rehabilitation works in a public housing district, “the letter sent by the Prime Minister is [para a Comissão Europeia] is sent every year [desde 2022] to define priorities at European level”.
The minister also stressed that “the problem of access to housing and rising costs is a problem across Europe”.
The government has sent the European Commission its priorities for 2024, in a series of fifteen proposals, including a European initiative for affordable housing or a “framework for the resilience of water surfaces and water availability”.
In a note published on the executive’s official website, the government said these are Portugal’s main concerns as part of the European Commission’s work program for next year.
According to Marina Gonçalves, “this is not a new instrument [a listagem de prioridades]but it is an important tool for us to define the major challenges that are common to Europe and also to define what a partnership is in achieving all these objectives.”
The minister defended as important that in the specific case of Housing “there is also a debate at European level”, as Europe faces “very similar problems”.
For the civil servant, this is “not a letter sent outside the normal yearly context; it is, and it is important, a priority that the Portuguese state established in 2018 and which is now a reinforced priority and which we consider to be a priority at the European level,” he concludes.
Of the 15 proposals submitted by Portugal as part of the European Commission’s work program for next year, the executive is highlighting a European initiative for affordable housing, “a framework for water surface resilience and water availability (Rewater EU)” or “a permanent crisis response mechanism”.
Portugal has also “proposed a European program for the reconversion of workers for the twin transition, a European framework for governance and response to fires, a rural digital law for the modernization of the agricultural sector and a European strategy for advanced computers,” reads on the note.
“Despite the need to concentrate efforts to finalize several open legislative files before the 2024 European Parliament elections, there are some urgent areas that, from a Portuguese perspective, require a coordinated European effort to strengthen the European Union. as a prosperous, modern and safe home for its citizens,” emphasizes the executive headed by António Costa.
The government also writes that these priorities “are the result of consultations with the various sectoral domains, the social partners and other stakeholders in civil society”.
As in 2022, this initiative gives Portugal the opportunity to have a proactive voice in planning the European Commission’s legislative agenda for next year, the note adds.
Source: DN
