All eyes today are on the Council of Ministers which promises to announce the government’s plan for “Portugal Transformation, Recovery and Resilience”, or PTRR, in response to what is now being calculated as the €6 billion repair bill caused by the recent ‘carousel of storms’.
It is not clear at what point today details of the PTRR will be announced.
During yesterday’s parliamentary debate, prime minister Luís Montenegro stressed that he wants the cooperation of all parties, as well as the current and future President of the Republic.
The PM told the House: “We are all called upon, and this collective challenge represents a shared responsibility and coincides with a new phase in the political cycle – with a horizon of three and a half years without national elections and with a new President of the Republic.”
In addition to responding to the emergency situations caused by torrential rain, wind and flooding, “a long, demanding recovery will be necessary, which should not mean mere repair”, he said.
“To achieve this goal, the Council of Ministers will approve the general guidelines for Portugal PTRR – Portugal Transformation, Recovery and Resilience tomorrow.”
Today, before members of parliament, Mr Montenegro explained that this programme will be based on three pillars: the first is the recovery of both affected populations and businesses.
Second is resilience “to prepare Portugal for the future occurrence of extreme phenomena, focusing on infrastructure and the capacity for planning, prevention and adaptation”.
This second pillar includes water, forestry, seismic, energy, communications and cybersecurity plans, as well as “the reform of Portugal’s National Medical Emergency Institute (INEM), civil protection and critical infrastructure security”.
Third is the transformation pillar, which will serve “to integrate the reform process currently underway in the country with the objectives of resilience and recovery”.
“We cannot waste any more time, so next week we will begin to broaden our thinking and deepen these objectives, immediately integrating the participation of Members of Parliament, your parties, the President of the Republic and the President-elect, social partners, regional and local governments, academia and society in general,” the prime minister went on.
The goal, he explained, is for “everyone to collaborate in this effort” and to have a programme that gives “Portugal more capacity and more resilience.
“The PTRR does not exhaust or replace the government’s programme. Both require our total focus and commitment, with a dialogue that is loyal and forthright,” he added.
This was prime minister’s first fortnightly debate in parliament since the Kristin, Leonardo and Marta storms, which caused 18 deaths and have left many hundreds injured and homeless.
Considering the level of criticism thrown his way, Mr Montenegro emerged ‘’with his head held high’ and no apparent critical damage inflicted on his minority administration.
Brussels meantime has made it known that it is waiting to hear the government’s ‘final tally’ for the cost of the recent storms by the end of April. This is because European rules allow for expenses associated with exceptional events ‘out of the control of governments’ to be excluded from the otherwise strict budgetary evaluations of member states.
Source material: LUSA/ Negocios/ SIC
