In a statement released after an extraordinary meeting focused on the budget execution of the Azores, the CESA highlighted the region’s favorable developments in “employment growth (+0.9%) and the reduction of unemployment (-21.7%), the dynamics of the tourism sector, and the performance of the primary sector, with a 35.4% increase in the shipment of agri-food products from 2021 to 2024.”
However, despite these positive indicators, the organization warns of “the worsening of the regional debt ratio (+190.8 million euros in 2024, according to the second notification regarding the 2024 Excessive Deficit Procedure),” emphasizing the need to “strengthen budgetary discipline” and “strictly adhere to legal norms for financial balance.”
CESA, chaired by Piedade Lalanda, advocates for “a review of public spending and the promotion of a sustainable economic growth model that increases the region’s revenues.”
The council also expresses concern about overdue payments, “which affect the liquidity of companies, particularly SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] and self-employed entrepreneurs.”
It calls for “greater rigor in budget forecasts and suggests the creation of a simplified version of the Autonomous Region of the Azores Account (CRAA), accessible to citizens, providing clear information on the execution of public policies.”
Regarding the execution of the Recovery and Resilience Plan in the Azores (PRR-Azores), CESA noted that the accumulated execution rate “reached 87.3%, with 165 milestones and targets completed and 24 not completed.”
The organization acknowledges and praises the “recovery effort” by the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) and the recently created Mission Structure in publishing the Periodic Monitoring Reports.
CESA reaffirms its role as an independent consultative and monitoring body, stating that during the meeting, a proposal was approved to change its financial and administrative dependence from the executive sphere to the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores, “emphasizing its independent character, in line with its counterparts in the Republic, the Autonomous Region of Madeira, and Europe.”
Established in 2018, CESA is an independent collegial body with a consultative character, aimed at fostering dialogue between political power and civil society through concertation between social partners and the Government of the Azores.
CESA is responsible for commenting on draft development plans, including the regional plan and budget, as well as reports on their execution, and also on economic, labor, social, and environmental policies.
