“It’s not ideal, because there are still other costs that need to be addressed, specifically the overruns in education and health. However, considering the absence of a new Regional Finance Law, I think the Prime Minister has recognized this,” said Miguel Albuquerque regarding the extraordinary funds for the region.
Miguel Albuquerque made these comments during a campaign event for the PSD/CDS-PP coalition in Funchal, as part of the local elections scheduled for Sunday, in response to the State Budget proposal submitted today in the Assembly of the Republic.
Madeira is set to receive 294.3 million euros under the Regional Autonomous Finance Law in 2026, an increase of 14.5 million euros from this year.
The OE2026 proposal specifies that Madeira will also receive 214,362,360 euros under Article 48 of the Regional Finance Law (budget transfers) and 79,930,558 euros under Article 49 (cohesion fund for outermost regions) on an “exceptional basis.”
The State Budget proposal also authorizes the Autonomous Region of Madeira to incur funded debt “for debt consolidation and settlement of outstanding payments” up to a limit of 50 million euros.
“What I have to say now is that what I agreed with the Prime Minister has so far been fulfilled,” said Miguel Albuquerque.
The social-democratic leader highlighted, in particular, the 79.9 million euros from the cohesion fund, noting that the amount was at risk due to “the inequity, injustice, and absurdity of the Regional Finance Law.”
This law links the cohesion fund to the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), meaning the more the region grows, the less it receives.
“Due to the GDP increase, the Autonomous Region of Madeira would be left without a national cohesion fund,” he noted.
The President of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP) emphasized that there are still “some issues” to resolve in the specifics, such as reducing the VAT rate for private social solidarity institutions in the region and the debt of health subsystems for security forces.
On another note, Miguel Albuquerque argued that funding parity should exist between Madeira and the Azores, which according to the OE proposal, will receive 341.1 million euros in 2026, an increase of 21.9 million euros from this year.
“It is important to say that we are not against the Azores receiving more, but there should be equitable treatment between the two regions,” he said.
In statements to journalists, the Madeira executive leader also indicated his intention to participate in the Council of Ministers’ meeting on October 30, along with the President of the Azores Regional Government.
The Government submitted the OE2026 proposal to parliament a day before the deadline and three days ahead of the local elections on Sunday.
In the macroeconomic scenario, the PSD/CDS-PP Government forecasts that GDP will grow by 2% this year and 2.3% in 2026.
The executive aims to achieve surpluses of 0.3% of GDP this year and 0.1% next year. Regarding the debt ratio, it estimates a reduction to 90.2% of GDP in 2025 and 87.8% in 2026.
The proposal will be discussed and voted on in general from October 27 to 28. The final global vote is scheduled for November 27, following the specialized debate process.
DC (CYB) // VAM
Lusa/End
