Portugal advocates EU recovery plan with State subsidies

The European economic recovery plan should be part of the European budget, financed by a loan to be taken out by the European Union (EU) and distributed among member states in the form of subsidies, the Portuguese Government said on Tuesday.

“Portugal hopes that the European Council will give the European Commission a strong political mandate so that it can soon present a financing proposal for the economic and social recovery plan that Europe will need,” foreign minister, Augusto Santos Silva, told the press after a meeting with the social partners.

The minister stressed that this plan must correspond to the size of the crisis caused by the coronavirus Pandemic, for which issues related to its financing are very important.

Portugal supports the Commission’s plan to link this fund to the multiannual financial framework (MFF, the EU budget for 2021-2027), which it considers a very intelligent solution that will “at the same time make it possible to resolve the approval of the new ministry and find a solid legal basis for the new economic and social recovery fund.

The Government advocated a solution in which the European Union takes out the loan needed to leverage this fund.

Finally, the minister stressed that Portugal is naturally inclined towards all solutions that do not burden member states with excessive debts.