“There will be a surplus greater than 0.1%, which is not very difficult; just look at the Portuguese economy. In terms of financial management, there’s only a month and ten days left,” stated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Leiria during the 15th PME Innovation Meeting.
Organized by COTEC Portugal, the meeting awarded i-charging, a company from Porto, the COTEC-BPI PME Innovation Award, recognizing national companies for their commitment to innovation and competitiveness.
“Anyone familiar with the management of public accounts knows it’s in the hands of the State, but I would bet on a surplus, and it’s a good thing, as next year will be more challenging in terms of public debt related to structural funds,” he warned, indicating that there is a “still insufficient acceleration” in this field.
The head of state emphasized that “what’s happening with the Portuguese economy is that the business sector is holding up and the State is managing public accounts continuously in national consensus,” also referencing indicators related to economic growth.
In this regard, he noted that “it’s true that the PRR [Recovery and Resilience Plan] has more or less impact and the Portugal 2030 depending on whether there’s less or more delay, whether the public administration changes more or less, and it needs to change more, and whether public procurement changes more or less and needs to change more.”
However, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa highlighted “great merits of the business sector and, within it, a tremendous merit of the SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] universe,” acknowledging that “what’s impressive is how the country changed and is changing due to the role of companies, entrepreneurs, and workers.”
“(…) But it needs to change more, because others will also need to strive and change more,” he cautioned, noting that some “stronger countries are not in good shape either financially or economically, but will do everything to be.”
In his speech, where he reflected back on the COVID-19 pandemic to emphasize the resilience of the Portuguese economic fabric, the head of state noted that this was the “great lesson” during pandemic years and those that followed, which “explains the economic situation the country is in today.”
“Because the world is not well, it’s unclear on fundamental issues, because Europe is not better. I wouldn’t say it’s worse than the world, which is difficult, but it’s in a challenging situation,” he declared.
Giving examples of “powerful economies starting slowly” or “problems of reconstruction of unity” and security in the European continent that “haven’t existed for decades,” the head of state also pointed out “relationship problems with other allies,” which “are continually reconsidered day by day,” and “scientific and technological delay.”
“With the pandemic, it became clearer that we lagged behind the United States and various ‘Asias,'” considered the President of the Republic, to highlight the subsequent scenario in Portugal, “largely credited to the Portuguese business fabric.”
In this context, he listed “steady exports, holding up and eager to grow, a situation of effective full employment, even with some sectors lacking labor,” “internal and external investment viewing Portugal as an attractive destination,” and “finally, a consensus that had never existed in Portugal about the balance of public accounts.”
“We seem like Germans. At a time when the Germans seem not to care, in the end, they are anxious but won’t admit it, about deficit or surplus, we debate whether it’s 0.1% less or more this year,” he added.
