Miranda Sarmento spoke of “chaos” and “collapse” to describe public finances. Medina rejected the accusations, but the accounts show clear numbers
There were more than 1.2 billion euros and all without budget. These are the accounts of the Council of Ministers’ resolutions approved by António Costa’s government after November 7th, the day the then prime minister resigned, following Operation Influencer.
According to the newspaper ECO, the execution of these commitments, which were not included in budget programs, depends on time off, which, in turn, depends on the signature of the Minister of Finance.
In total, this is an amount even above the 952 million euros contained in the State Budget for 2024 in provisional allocation and reserves, says ECO, citing a government source, which revealed the accounts on which the current Minister of Finance was based. for the strong accusations against the previous government.
At stake are 108 Council of Ministers resolutions, at least 40 of which total 1,204 million euros. None of these diplomas appears in any budget program, according to the Directorate-General for the Budget (DGO).
Joaquim Miranda Sarmento had highlighted three measures: 100 million euros to support farmers, 127 million euros to purchase vaccines against Covid-19 and 200 million euros for the recovery of the school park.
But, reveals ECO, the list is longer. It also includes a measure of 154.6 million euros related to the exceptional VAT eligibility regime and the simplification of procedures associated with the Development and Maintenance of a rescEU Stockpile Project or a diploma that changed the increase in the maximum value of financial compensation to be allocated to CP, and which has an impact of 84.4 million euros.
It was these diplomas that led Miranda Sarmento to dub the situation of public finances as “chaos” and “collapse”, lamenting that part of the reserves that are usually used beyond the summer have already been used.
In a prompt response, his predecessor, Fernando Medina, put forward one of two hypotheses: “Either a profound lack of preparation by the political team and the Minister of Finance, in particular, or the use of falsehood as an instrument of political combat”.
