The Council of Ministers approved in general terms the decree law aimed at “reorganizing the decentralized services of the State in the regions” and “strengthening the role of the CCDR [Coordination and Regional Development Commissions] as the body responsible for regional development.
“It has been approved that it will be a public institution with legal personality and, therefore, will no longer be directed by the government, but under the supervision and control of the government,” explained Ana Abrunhosa, Minister of Territorial Cohesion.
The Council of Ministers, meeting in Faro, approved the restructuring of the Commissions for Coordination and Regional Development (CCDR), which will have the status of special public institutions, with the aim of starting to exercise powers decentralized from the central administration.
During a press conference after the meeting, the Minister for Territorial Cohesion explained that, according to the new organic law of the CCDRs approved today, a program contract will be drawn up between the Government and each of the five regional entities, within the framework of the Territorial Concertation Council, in order to ensure that all the objectives of the decentralization of competencies are met.
The Minister also emphasized that a one-stop shop will be created to allow municipalities, businesses and citizens to relate to the new structure.
This does not mean that the different agencies of the public administration will no longer be responsible for the different procedures, but there will be a simplification in the relationship of citizens and companies with the State, she said, stressing that some competencies will be completely transferred, while in other areas they will not be completely transferred, but some services will be deconcentrated.
As special public institutes, the CCDRs will have greater autonomy, but will still have to comply with government guidelines on national public policies.
The command structure of each CCDR will consist of a President and up to four Vice Presidents.
The first areas of responsibility to be transferred to the CCDRs will be agriculture, fisheries and culture, followed by education, vocational training, the economy, nature conservation, health and spatial planning.
The minister stressed that the government has set a “demanding timetable” for the integration of state services into the CCDRs, which must be completed by March 2024. According to Ana Abrunhosa, the government is “convinced that by giving more powers to the CCDRs and removing them from the ministries, better public services will be provided to the citizens”.
