The finance minister welcomed this Monday the “good news” of the European Commission’s economic forecasts, which predict growth of 2.4% this year, assuming the Portuguese economy will cope with “the adverse scenario” of high inflation can offer.
“I will start by responding to the good news of the European Commission’s spring forecasts. Good news for our country, as they indicate that in the year 2023 Portugal will experience very significant growth, more than double what is estimated for the growth of the Eurozone economies, lower-than-expected inflation, very much in line with government forecasts, high employment rates and, basically, the capacity for significant economic growth that the country will have this year,” said Fernando Medina.
Speaking in Brussels on the day the city council released its spring economic forecasts, the finance minister stressed the “good news for the Portuguese economy, enabling it to cope with this adverse context of higher-than-desired inflation” .
According to Fernando Medina, these projections reflect “keeping correct accounts from a deficit point of view, but especially from a debt point of view”.
“What the Commission is pointing out today is that in the year 2023, Portugal will achieve a very important achievement, which is to stop being the third country with the highest debt and move to fifth position, below Spain, France and very close to Belgium,” he said at the entrance to the Eurogroup meeting.
This Monday, Brussels revised its growth forecast for Portugal’s economy this year upwards to 2.4%, the third-highest rate in the eurozone, aided by tourism, which appears to be more optimistic than the government.
In the Spring Economic Forecast, the European Commission improved Portugal’s GDP growth forecast for this year from the 1% forecast in February and maintained the 1.8% forecast for 2024.
The forecast for this year puts Portugal in the ‘top three’ Eurozone countries with the highest growth this year, along with Greece, surpassed only by Ireland (5.5%) and Malta (2.4%).
Brussels also forecasts Portugal’s deficit to fall to 0.1% this year, the lowest in the eurozone, the best result except for projected surpluses for Ireland and Cyprus, which are more optimistic than the government.
In the spring economic forecast, the European Commission points to a decline in the Portuguese deficit from 0.4% of GDP in 2022 to 0.1% this year and 2024.
Portugal is projected to be the country with the lowest deficit in the eurozone and the European Union (EU) this year, a budget outturn only surpassed by projected surpluses for Ireland (1.7%) and Cyprus (1.8%) — and the 2.3% forecast for Denmark.
TAP must quickly recover compensation from Alexandra Reis
Fernando Medina also admitted that TAP is obliged to recover the amount of damages of 500 thousand euros paid to Alexandra Reis for leaving TAP in advance, hoping that the company will do so “as soon as possible”.
“It will be solved by TAP, which, by the way, is the one with the mandate to solve the problem,” he said, emphasizing that TAP “has not only the authority, but also the duty to do so, moreover on behalf of the Ministry of Finance”. “I hope you do it faster,” confirmed the finance minister.
Asked about the possible consequences of this situation, the government official indicated: “I do not accept consequences, I admit that TAP will report the actual amounts due and that they will be recovered given the intention of engineer Alexandra Reis from the outset to make the return of all money which it was understood that it should return”.
In early May, the Directorate General of Treasury and Finance (DGTF) said that TAP is responsible for calculating the amount of compensation to be repaid by former administrator Alexandra Reis and that it has already provided this information to the company.
“We have already informed TAP that it is up to the company to make this calculation,” said Director General of Finance and Finance Maria João Araújo at a hearing before the airline’s parliamentary committee of inquiry.
At the time, the person responsible was answering questions from the blocking deputy Mariana Mortágua, following statements made by the former chairman of the board of directors, Manuel Beja, who said during his hearing before the investigative committee, when he was still in office, that the TAP was waiting for instructions from the DGTF about the amount to be repaid by Alexandra Reis.
Alexandra Reis had informed the committee of inquiry that she had only returned the compensation at that time, because she was waiting for an indication of the value from TAP.
The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry was set up following the news of the €500,000 compensation to Alexandra Reis for leaving TAP early, which was being negotiated under the Code of Commercial Companies, not under the Statute of State Manager.
According to that statute, only directors who have been in office for at least 12 months can be compensated, which is not the case.
Government follows “general guidelines” in the EU on the energy crisis
The government will follow “the general guidelines” given to European Union countries regarding the energy crisis, but has agreed to end state aid in 2024 if not justified, as envisioned by the European Commission.
“We will follow the general guideline that has been established for the different countries and that corresponds to it […] that the prices are even lower than the prices we had before the conflict,” Fernando Medina said in Brussels about the war in Ukraine.
“In fact, prices are already lower than before the conflict, that is, which motivated the existence of public support and it is important for us to act in this way, that is, to reduce support when it is no longer necessary,” he added. .
For Fernando Medina, the Portuguese executive must continue to provide “support when it is needed and in the places where it is needed”. “Today, for example, they are less needed in the field of energy, but they were needed, for example, in the field of food”, hence the “reduction of VAT in the basic basket of foodstuffs”, emphasized the minister responsible for it. According to the minister, “this is how economic policy should be guided”.
The European Commission also said on Monday it had not received Portugal’s revised Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for the reprogramming of funds and projects, but assured it was working with Portuguese authorities and did not foresee any “specific problems”. .
Asked about this situation, Fernando Medina stressed that “Portugal is one of the countries most advanced in the implementation of its PRR”.
“The reprogramming of the PRR will follow exactly its path, its timetable, its form,” he continued, without specifying.
Source: DN
