The president of the National Monitoring Committee for the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) assured today that, to date, Portugal has not lost a single euro from this plan and highlighted the challenges associated with the final disbursements.
“Until now we have not lost any euro. We have naturally fulfilled the payment requests up to the sixth, which will be disbursed soon,” stated Pedro Dominguinhos, president of the PRR National Monitoring Committee, speaking at the parliamentary committee on Economy and Territorial Cohesion, at the request of Chega and the PS.
Dominguinhos noted that the seventh and eighth payment requests should not pose significant issues, but warned that the last two requests are particularly challenging, considering the milestones and targets they involve.
Additionally, he pointed out that the PRR currently in execution is not the same as the one presented to the European Commission in 2021, as it has since been reprogrammed.
When questioned specifically about the health sector, the president of the PRR Monitoring Committee warned that the “most complex situation” occurs in the national network of continued care, where many projects have yet to commence.
This is compounded by infrastructures or equipment that are completed but not yet utilized by the public.
“I visited a building with 60 beds in Leiria, ready since March, awaiting integration into the network,” he exemplified.
He emphasized that all his reports were unanimously approved and that representatives from civil society are part of this committee, including universities, polytechnics, mutual societies, and the confederations of farmers, tourism, commerce, and entrepreneurs.
The PRR, which is scheduled to be executed by 2026, aims to implement a range of reforms and investments to foster economic growth recovery.
Besides aiming to repair the damages caused by COVID-19, this plan seeks to support investments and generate employment.
