Prime Minister António Costa today expressed confidence that the Portuguese economy would continue to grow, but said it was necessary to “keep pedaling” because “inertia” is not enough to keep the momentum going.
At a factory producing electric bicycles in Vagos, the Prime Minister did not avoid using analogies with cycling, in a speech in which he stressed the need to “keep pedaling” to ensure the continued growth of the Portuguese economy.
“When you stop pedaling, there is naturally not enough inertia for the movement to continue. That’s why it’s essential to keep pedaling”, said António Costa, speaking at the end of a visit to Unibike, a Vagos-based company dedicated to the production of electric bicycles.
The head of government said that the growth recorded by the country “will continue and amplify”, citing the example of Unibike, a company whose 95% of invoicing is based on exports and which forecasts 20% growth this year, compared with 2022.
“Every company has prospects this year of adding a little to its production” and all of them, depending on their size, will “add” to the economy, “which means that the national economy will continue to grow and, if it continues to grow, will continue to generate employment and better, better-paid jobs”, he said.
António Costa stressed that if economic growth continues, it will be possible to have “more stable public finances, with less debt, less deficit, which will allow us to continue to reduce taxation on people who work and pay income tax, and create better conditions to ensure the territory’s competitiveness”.
In his speech, the Prime Minister also said that “good public policies” had made it possible to overcome “the biggest deficit of all”, that of skills, and to achieve financial stability and international credibility.
The “virtuous marriage” between good public policies and investment gives confidence in “the future of the economy”, he declared, recalling that Portugal was the third fastest-growing country in the European Union in 2022 and in the first quarter of this year.
António Costa also underlined the strength of the country’s bicycle production, which places the country at the top of the sector at European level, in an industry that has been able to “reinvent itself”.
Drawing on cycling analogies, the Prime Minister urged the sector to stay “at the front of the pack” and not let down “the yellow jersey of the bicycle industry”.
The Minister for the Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva, and the Mayor of Vagos, Silvério Regalado, were also present during the visit.
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