The Minister of Agriculture today accused the previous government of having “wasted the opportunity” to use all the RRP funds available to Portugal, and warned of what he called “green radicalism” against farmers.
José Manuel Fernandes was speaking at the 13th edition of the Europa University, a political training initiative that brings together around 70 young people in Cúria (Aveiro), which will be closed today with speeches by the Prime Minister and PSD leader, Luís Montenegro, and the AD (coalition of PSD, CDS-PP and PPM) European list leader, Sebastião Bugalho.
The former MEP and EPP coordinator of the Budgets Committee, in a lecture on “Who pays the EU?”, pointed out that Portugal has around 22.2 billion euros at its disposal under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), but could have had 30.5 billion euros if it had used up the entire loan package.
“Portugal didn’t want it and we’re left here frustrated (…) Spain wanted all the resources and is using them for the goal of efficient water storage,” he said, considering that “Portugal missed an opportunity to use these 8.3 billion euros and now it can’t go back.”
José Manuel Fernandes admitted that these loans represented more doubt, but the repayment period was 30 years and the interest rate “extremely low”.
“Why have we wasted these resources? Why is Portugal 2030’s execution rate close to zero? Because the previous government didn’t know how to plan, didn’t know how to listen to the local authorities, the CCDRs,” he lamented, considering that they could have used these funds both for water management and for capitalizing companies.
In the area of agriculture, the minister reiterated his criticism of the previous government, which he considered to have left “a very heavy legacy”, saying that there are 1,050 million euros that have to be paid out by 2025.
“We can’t afford to lose a penny (…) The previous socialist government, as a result of its incompetence, as a result of its sloppiness, didn’t move quickly to implement all these funds that are crucial for Portugal,” he said, pointing out that the country is the member state that most depends on the funds for public investment.
“They have to be to create value, to create wealth, they can’t be to replace the state budget,” he criticized.
In his speech, the minister took the opportunity to defend farmers, saying that “the constant attack on them is unacceptable” and that they are “the ones who best defend the environment”.
“Why have farmers revolted? Because they have been disregarded, they are often presented as if they were villains and enemies of the environment, because they are asked to make environmental demands and are not given resources, because there is a green radicalism that prevents climate goals from being achieved,” he said.
The Minister of Agriculture argued that, in order to achieve these goals, “in addition to telling people the truth”, it is necessary to be gradualist rather than radical.
“Farmers are primarily interested in the environment and in ensuring that the soil is in good condition,” he said, considering that this “revolt must be heard and understood”.
On Saturday, at the same PSD political training event, the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Graça Carvalho, argued that agriculture can have less of an impact on the environment if it uses “all the scientific knowledge available”.
