A day after it was revealed that the Public Prosecutor’s Office ruled that EDP must pay 335.2 million euros in taxes for its deal with Engie, political blocs recalled that, in 2020, parliament determined the creation of a fund to allocate tax revenues from this deal to finance the municipalities of Vila Real and Miranda do Douro, where the six dams are located.
“The creation of this fund was suspended due to the non-payment of due taxes by EDP and Engie from the operation. It is thus crucial to resume the proposal for the constitution of the fund to support municipalities affected by the dams, to where the finally collected amounts from EDP should be transferred,” argues the party.
This would be called the Terra de Miranda Fund and have “legal personality and the status of a public foundation with financial and administrative autonomy, with its management to be defined by the involved municipalities along with civil society organizations dedicated to regional development.”
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has shelved the suspicions of tax fraud in the sale of EDP’s six dams to Engie, but concluded that the state is owed 335.2 million euros in “unpaid taxes.”
The inquiry, concluded at the end of October, focused on the sale of the Miranda, Bemposta, and Picote (run-of-the-river power stations) and Foz Tua, Baixo Sabor, and Feiticeiro (reservoir plants with pumping) dams for 2,200 million euros to a French consortium, Movhera, formed by Engie (40%), Crédit Agricole Assurances (35%), and Mirova – Natixis Group (25%).
In their proposed amendments to the state budget in the health sector, the Bloc proposes “a 20% update for all pay grades of National Health Service (SNS) professionals” and the creation of “a risk and hardship statute, recognizing the demands and wear of their duties,” ensuring, among other things, faster career progression and a reduction in weekly working hours.
They also advocate for the creation of an exclusive dedication regime in the SNS, “with a 40% salary increase, a 50% increase in points for career progression, and two extra vacation days for every five years in the regime,” and the integration of internal doctors into the special medical career.
In the housing sector, the party led by Mariana Mortágua insists on rent ceilings and advocates “a special regime for mobilizing properties that have been vacant for more than five years,” also proposing that housing loans contracted after 2011 should be able to deduct interest.
Among the proposed amendments to the State Budget 2026, approved in general on October 28, are included increasing the national minimum wage to 1,020 euros, effective from January 1, 2026, and pensions, “with a minimum amount of 50 euros per pensioner.”
“This increase incorporates the regular annual update and covers disability, old-age, and survivor pensions of Social Security, as well as retirement, pension, and survivor pensions from the convergent scheme of the Caixa Geral de Aposentações,” specify the bloc members, who also want to extend the meal subsidy to the private sector and update its value to 12 euros per day.
BE also proposes recognizing the profession of firefighter as a risky and mentally exhausting profession, ensuring “the right to a risk, hardship, and insalubrity pay supplement corresponding to a 30% increase on the base salary” and the establishment of new age limits for retirement depending on the professional category.
Lastly, they advocate for the review of the Higher Education Financing Regime to end tuition fees in 2027, preceded by a freeze on tuition fees in the 1st and 2nd cycles next year, and the implementation of a free pass for youths up to 25 years on all public transport.
The Government’s proposal for the State Budget for 2026 was approved in general on October 28 in the Assembleia da República, with votes in favor from PSD and CDS-PP and abstentions from PS, PAN, and JPP.
Chega, IL, BE, PCP, and Livre voted against the PSD/CDS-PP Government’s proposal.
Discussion and voting in detail will occur between November 20 and 21.
