António Filipe, speaking in Seixal, Setúbal district, following a meeting with the Portuguese Confederation of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises held at his request, noted that these constitute 99 percent of the national economic structure.
“The Portuguese economy is largely made up of micro, small, and medium enterprises, and I believe they are very disadvantaged by public policies,” he said, adding, “it is justified that there is attention, during the presidential elections, to the Portuguese economy and to those who make the economy work, the small and medium enterprises.”
The presidential candidate argued that public policies are chiefly directed towards large companies, neglecting the fact that most are small or medium-sized.
“I think it is justified to have a policy, especially in fiscal and economic matters, that prioritizes support for these enterprises because they survive with great difficulty,” he stressed.
António Filipe criticized as “very unfair” the fact that the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPPME) is not part of the Economic and Social Council.
“It is a fight they have been pursuing for several years without success, but I believe it would be only fair that there should not be, at the level of the Economic and Social Council, first-tier confederations, which are those representing large companies, and second-tier confederations, in this case, those representing small companies,” he argued.
The presidential candidate advocated that a confederation with the representativeness of the CPPME should not only be part of the Economic and Social Council but also have a fiscal policy that favors them.
“What has happened in our country recently, which focuses on lowering corporate tax, is something that fundamentally favors the very large companies and has virtually no impact on small and medium enterprises,” he emphasized.
On another note, the presidential candidate believes that small and medium enterprises, and small and medium entrepreneurs, “identify much more with the issues of the workers themselves than large companies,” and that their participation in the Economic and Social Council would bring balance to the composition of the council.
For CPPME President Jorge Pisco, although a President of the Republic does not have a legislative role, they have a watchdog function, drawing attention to the importance of micro, small, and medium enterprises.
“The Presidency of the Republic has a fundamental role considering that the Government has not assumed this role towards micro, small, and medium enterprises,” he stated, asserting that governments need to pay attention to these companies as they generate 70% of national wealth.
Jorge Pisco lamented that, months after the Government took office, the CPPME has not even received a response to requests for meetings with the ministries of Labor, Justice, and Economy.
“They have to listen to the companies because we have concrete proposals, and it is not just pretending to hear us because we have proposals and we are available,” he stressed.
