The Minister of Territorial Cohesion said this Thursday that, after the decentralization of powers to the municipalities and the transfer of powers to the CCDRs, the Portuguese will have no doubt that the next step is regionalization.
Speaking to the Lusa bureau on the day the government approves a resolution in the Council of Ministers providing for the transfer of allocations from regional state services to the Commissions for Coordination and Regional Development (CCDR), Ana Abrunhosa recalled that the government program foresees in holding a referendum on regionalization in 2024.
“I think citizens will have no doubt that we will have to take the next step, but it is an issue that we will assess in 2024″said the holder of the Territorial Cohesion portfolio.
Taking into account the ongoing transfer of powers to the municipalities and allocations to the CCDRs, a process that will begin this Thursday, the minister believed that it will be “easier” for the Portuguese to understand whether the reorganization of services will “be much protects fears” of regionalization”.
“We believe this will result in better quality public service and closer public service”he claimed.
Ana Abrunhosa also said the government “cannot ignore” that the leader of the largest opposition party (PSD), Luís Montenegro, has already revealed “opposition” to holding the referendum in 2024, but also “cannot ignore” that the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities, with “mayors of all political colors”, approved a regionalization memorandum.
“In 2024, we will evaluate and decide whether to let CCDR presidents be elected by the mayors alone or whether we want CCDR presidents to be elected by the people”he added.
In this sense, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, in charge of municipalities, said she had no doubts that in 2024 there will be “no more discussion” about what will be “the best map” for regionalization:
“It is natural that it will be in the context of what is today the territory of the CCDR”he said, referring to the CCDRs in the north, center, Lisbon and Tagus Valley, Alentejo and Algarve.
The CCDRs are currently decentralized services of the central administration, endowed with administrative and financial autonomy, responsible for carrying out measures for the development of the respective regions, such as the management of community funds.
In the Council of Ministers this Thursday, the government will adopt a resolution providing for the transfer of powers from regional services of the state to the coordination and regional development committees in nine areas.
According to the degree Lusa had access to, the skills identified in each of the sectors can be fully transferred, shared or exercised together.
The transfer of contributions in the fields of economy, culture, education, health, nature and forest management, spatial planning, infrastructure, vocational training and agriculture and fisheries is foreseen.
The government estimates that this process will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
The government program indicates that, after the decentralization of powers, the election of CCDR leaders and the strengthening of the role of these committees, the intention is to “based on an assessment of the CCDR reform in a serene and responsible manner reopen the debate on the regionalization process in the coming years, with the aim of holding a new referendum on this in 2024”.
Source: DN
