“I want to clearly express my satisfaction with the meeting with the Prime Minister. He confirmed the commitments previously made and pledged to ensure a solution for these difficulties,” stated the leader of the Azores Regional Government.
José Manuel Bolieiro spoke to journalists this morning at the parliament in Lisbon after a meeting with the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco.
On Thursday, the leader of the Azorean government met with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.
The meeting with the Prime Minister covered topics such as the revision of the financial law for autonomous regions, the potential of the sea and space, public service obligations, and requests for support to address the damages caused by Hurricane Lorenzo and Storm Efrain.
Regarding the financial law revision, José Manuel Bolieiro noted that there is a commitment to work “together” with the government on this matter.
“I ensured the delivery to the Prime Minister’s office of the Azores Government’s vision regarding a work proposal that we, the Governments of the Azores and Madeira, commissioned from Professor Eduardo Paes Ferreira for a broader revision of the autonomous financial law,” he pointed out.
On the support for the damages caused by the storms, the leader of the Azores Regional Government indicated that there would be aid to address the damages caused in 2019 by Hurricane Lorenzo, particularly for farmers.
Additionally, José Manuel Bolieiro mentioned that the Republic’s Government will ensure “solidarity support” for the reconstruction of the Hospital Divino Espírito Santo in Ponta Delgada, which was affected by a fire in May of the previous year.
Another guarantee given by Luís Montenegro was the convening of a Council of Ministers in September, bringing together the presidents of the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira to discuss regional autonomy issues.
Regarding a previously discussed summit of the Azores and Madeira governments with the new Republic’s executive, José Manuel Bolieiro estimated it might occur after the municipal elections in October, potentially between the end of this year and the beginning of the next.
Concerning the meeting this morning with the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, the Azores Government leader explained that it served to greet his reelection and convey the region’s pending issues, as well as some viewpoints on a potential constitutional revision.
“I wanted to state that, should there be a revision, which is necessary to enhance and update our Constitution, in line with our democracy, economy, our integration into the European Union, and the country’s decentralization process, it must enhance the future deepening of autonomy,” he argued.
