The governmental design chosen by Luís Montenegro is different from that of António Costa. While before the European cohesion funds and the PRR were in different ministries, they are now concentrated in the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion.
Thus, this ministry accumulates all European funds, including PRR and Portugal 2030, plus State reforms for decentralization of municipalities and Regional Coordination and Development Commissions. All matters related to local authorities are also handled by Castro Almeida. As deputy minister, he is also responsible for monitoring interministerial dossiers.
There are, therefore, numerous challenges for Manuel Castro Almeida, former secretary of Regional Development of Passos Coelho and former president of the Chamber of São João da Madeira, aged 66. The most pressing issue for the department and perhaps even for the Government is the PRR.
Despite being one of the most advanced in the European Union, the Portuguese PRR has dozens of late targets and the delay in three of them has already led to the postponement of the payment of 700 million euros relating to the third and fourth checks.
If Portugal meets the three failed targets, it will receive the 700 million euros in the fifth payment. The problem is that some targets for the fifth tranche are also late and the indicative deadline for requesting disbursement to Brussels, March 31, will not be met.
Furthermore, all PRR projects must be ready by December 31, 2026 and there are dozens that are delayed or at risk of not being fulfilled, as the National Monitoring Commission attested in the latest report.
Among Castro Almeida’s challenges is the management of Portugal 2030 regional programs, with an allocation of 10 billion euros, the design of which was closed by the previous Government.
The range of priorities also includes the decentralization process, which the new minister knows well as he was on Rui Rio’s team that signed an agreement with the PS related to this reform, in 2018. At the time, Castro Almeida was vice-president of the PSD, having resigned in 2019.
In the chapter on decentralization, the AD program promises a deepening of the reform, particularly aimed at metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities, with the support of “adequate human, material and financial resources”.
Another important dossier is the review of the Local Finance Law, demanded by several mayors and whose position Castro Almeida is not aware of. The change to this law is also included in the AD program.
Even less clear is the new Government’s option on regionalization. It is true that the PSD and PS mayors defend the reform. However, the AD program says nothing about the matter and it was Luís Montenegro who wanted to postpone the referendum until after 2024, as he announced on the day he won the PSD. It remains to be seen what the new Minister of Cohesion thinks.
Currently, the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic requires that there be a minimum participation of 50% of voters for the referendum to be binding. This clause could be an obstacle to the advancement of regionalization in the event of a “yes” victory in a future referendum. Luísa Salgueiro, president of ANMP, argues that the Constitution must be changed so that the 50% requirement no longer exists.
