The Economic and Social Council (CES) has released its opinion on the Major Options for 2025-2029, expressing concerns that state reform should not be based on the premise that concentrating agencies and competencies leads to simplification and better resource management.
The CES warns of constraints arising from the creation of mega-public organizations where the expansion of functional competencies is not supported by existing human resources, potentially resulting in extended decision times and decision criteria driven predominantly by procedural logic.
This advisory body, which includes 76 councilors, advocates for an agenda focused on administrative and digital simplification, with deadlines for eliminating redundant processes, full interoperability between platforms, and independent assessment of decision times.
“State reform should concentrate on improving the performance and responsiveness of both central and local Public Administration,” the CES adds.
Furthermore, the CES argues that digitization efforts should enhance Public Administration processes without compromising the provision of information essential to its mission, ensuring improved access to and quality of services provided to citizens and businesses.
The council also stresses the importance of investing in “training aimed at acquiring digital competencies” for all citizens, particularly the youth and the elderly, as a crucial tool in combating digital illiteracy. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining traditional means of communication with the populations, especially the elderly.
“In the context of measures to combat digital illiteracy and inequalities in accessing certain essential public services, a profound change in the model of the social internet access tariff, created by Decree-Law No. 66/2021 of July 30, will be crucial,” the council notes, without detailing the proposed changes.
This opinion was approved during the CES plenary meeting on Friday, with vote declarations from CGTP (which voted against) and UGT (which abstained).
On the same day, the opinion on the State’s General Account for 2024 was also approved, with CGTP voting in favor.
The Deputy Minister for State Reform has assured that the government will not cut salaries or dismiss staff as part of the ongoing state reform, which has a total consolidated expenditure budget of 140.1 million euros, according to the report accompanying the State Budget proposal for 2026.
As part of this reform, the government plans to redefine the structure of various ministries, expecting this process to be completed “by the end of the first half” of 2026, as noted by the minister on July 31, following the approval of the reform by the Council of Ministers.
