The Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) has a total allocation of 22.216 billion euros. By mid-November, only 9.7 billion euros (41%) had been spent, leaving approximately 13 billion euros to be executed by mid-2026, according to local leaders in the Financing Local document presented at the XXVII Congress of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP).
The ANMP proposes negotiating with the European Commission (EC) to extend the deadline for executing the PRR, citing market constraints and the overlap of two European funding programs as justification.
In the document, reported by Ricardo Leão, Mayor of Loures, the ANMP also requests that unspent funds be transferred to the next programming period from 2028 to 2034.
Municipalities are urging the government to define alternative strategies to fund approved PRR projects that will not be completed in time, such as schools and health centers.
They suggest considering a financing mechanism similar to that used for housing, leveraging funds from the European Investment Bank and the state budget.
The local authorities also demand an increase in reference values and standard costs, in line with inflation and market values, as the current figures are deemed insufficient and outdated. This particularly applies to housing, health centers, and childcare institutions.
Regarding the Portugal 2030 program, with an allocation of 22.9 billion euros, by the end of October, only 2.8 billion euros (12% of the total) had been paid out.
This leaves 20.1 billion euros to be executed by 2030, with demanding interim targets already set for the end of this year and the next, they warn.
Pedro Duarte, President of the Porto Metropolitan Council (CmP), announced on Friday his intention to request a meeting with the Minister of the Economy and Territorial Cohesion to discuss the execution of community funds, especially the PRR.
Speaking to reporters after the CmP meeting, Pedro Duarte noted that the execution of community funds is a matter of concern for local leaders, particularly those who have recently taken office following the municipal elections on October 12.
At the same meeting, Luís Filipe Menezes, Mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia, stated that the government “cannot completely wash its hands” of the issue, as “excessive bureaucracy” hampers fund execution.
