The proposed changes aim to “ensure an increase in transfers of approximately 150 million euros annually, until a thorough review of the Regional Finance Law is conducted. Currently, the transfer of these funds depends on the government’s will each State Budget,” announced BE in a press release.
According to the party, this measure would remain in effect until the Regional Finance Law is comprehensively revised, freeing it from the “political will” of the government each year.
This is one of the 14 proposed amendments to the State Budget for 2026 presented by Deputy Mariana Mortágua, which specifically concerns the Azores, as noted by the party.
In addition to increasing revenue, the party seeks to include in the State Budget a provision requiring the Republic’s Government to present, within six months of the document’s enactment, a detailed plan with projects, funds, and timelines for investment in the autonomous regions.
The party emphasizes that, “year after year, the autonomous regions see structural investments, which are the responsibility of the Republic’s Government and have been promised by successive Governments for decades, being repeatedly postponed.”
“The existence of a public and transparent investment plan will serve as a tool for holding the government accountable and verifying the compliance of successive governments,” reads the explanatory note for the proposal submitted to parliament.
The party also suggests that public administration workers responsible for state services in the Azores receive equivalent pay to the regional complementary remuneration.
The party seeks to ensure that workers earning the regional minimum wage are exempt from income tax, suggesting that in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, the reference value for calculating the minimum subsistence should be the regional minimum wage rather than the national minimum wage.
Another measure presented by BE is the amendment of the social mobility subsidy, advocating the elimination of the need for advance payments for ticket purchases and the removal of the recently imposed cap of 600 euros by the Republic’s Government.
BE also calls for an increase in state support for the inter-island transport service, which “has not been updated since 2021,” proposing that “the value be updated annually according to the average variation of the Consumer Price Index, as was previously the case.”
BE strongly advocates for the urgent repair of “environmental damages resulting from US military activities on Terceira Island,” suggesting the implementation of the “necessary measures for effective soil and aquifer decontamination and mitigation of existing damages,” as well as executing the 2018 resolution of the Republic’s Assembly, which holds the US “economically responsible for this process.”
The party’s proposals also include a 30% increase in government funding for the University of the Azores, bolstering funding for RTP Açores, extraordinary regularization of workers with precarious contracts who represent permanent needs, and the initiation of a special recruitment process for hiring judicial officers in the region’s courts.
Improvements to the conditions of the Azores Regional Police Command, through an increase in the number of officers, enhancements in the precincts and vehicle fleet, and additional training, are also part of BE’s proposals.
The party is pushing for the redevelopment of the Terceira Island Prison, which despite being a recent construction “presents several issues,” and the Horta Support Prison, whose facilities “are highly degraded.”
The Government’s State Budget proposal for 2026 was approved in its general form in the Republic’s Assembly on October 28, and the final global vote is scheduled for November 27.
