Finance Minister Fernando Medina admits that he “still has a lot to do”, recalling, for example, that the decision on the new airport “will be up to the next government”. On the day the government takes office, Medina said he believes the country is “in a position” to escape the effects of the economic slowdown in the European Union.
‘The estimates and indications we have had so far do not indicate this [o abrandamento da economia europeia] is neither too long nor too deep,” the minister said, emphasizing that “from a budgetary point of view, the country has the tools to make choices regarding the conditions and means to cope with the forces of delay.”
Meanwhile, the Eurogroup gave a positive assessment of the Portuguese state budget for 2024, as it is “in line with the Council’s budgetary recommendations”, together “with the plans of Austria, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands and Slovakia” .
‘The Eurogroup invites these Member States to be ready to take action if necessary’, at a time when ‘after a strong recovery, growth momentum has slowed significantly this year’, including due to the effects ‘of the monetary policy currently taking place ‘. in economics”.
Speaking in Brussels on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting, Medina listed the decision on a future airport to serve the capital as one of the decisions the next government “will make”. “The Technical Commission has presented its studies. It is now up to the next government to decide not only on the location it considers suitable for the new airport, but also to make choices regarding the conditions and means for its implementation of it,” he said. .
When asked whether the country’s finances are able to absorb the impact of the costs of building the new airport, Fernando Medina referred to the conclusions of the technical committee, recalling that “to recover these 8 billion financing, public funds are not necessary as the operation of the new airport is in itself a profitable operation and therefore this 8 billion euros will not come from the state treasury.”
Regarding the rejection of ANA, the company that manages Portuguese airports, Fernando Medina states regarding the location of Alcochete that it is an issue that he does not comment on and “it must be an issue that the next government will have to decide , manage, execute and implement” and on which he declined to comment.
Source: DN
