Previous government ‘wasted’ recovery plan, says Portuguese agriculture minister

The previous government of Portugal “wasted the opportunity” to use all the funds available to the country under the recovery plan, Portuguese Agriculture Minister José Manuel Fernandes said on Sunday, warning against what he called ‘green radicalism’ against farmers.

Fernandes spoke at the 13th edition of the Europa University, a political training event bringing together some 70 young people in Curia (Aveiro), which on Sunday concluded with speeches by Prime Minister and PSD leader Luís Montenegro and the EU election list for AD, Sebastião Bugalho.

“Portugal has around €22.2 billion at its disposal under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) but could have had €30.5 billion if it had used all the loans. Portugal didn’t want to do that, and we’re left here frustrated”, said the former MEP and former EPP coordinator of the Committee on Budgets in a lecture on “Who pays the EU.

“Spain wanted all the resources and is using them for the goal of efficient water storage,” he said, adding that ‘Portugal missed an opportunity to use these €8.3 billion, and now it can’t go back.’

Fernandes acknowledged that these loans represented more debt, but the repayment period was 30 years, and the interest rate was “very low”.

“Why have we wasted these resources? Why is Portugal 2030 with an implementation rate close to zero? Because the previous government didn’t know how to plan, didn’t know how to listen to the local authorities, the CCDRs,” he lamented, considering that these funds could have been used both for water management and for the capitalisation of companies.

Regarding agriculture, the minister repeated his criticism of the previous government, which he said had left “a very heavy legacy,” with €1.05 billion to be paid out by 2025.

“We can’t afford to lose a cent (…) The previous Socialist government, because of its incompetence, because of its sloppiness, didn’t move quickly to implement all these funds that are crucial for Portugal,” he said, pointing out that the country is the member state most dependent on the funds for public investment.

“They must be used to create value, to create wealth. They can’t be used to replace the state budget,” he added.

In his speech, the minister also defended farmers, saying that “the constant attack on them is unacceptable” and that they are “the best defenders of the environment”.

“Why did farmers revolt? Because they have been disregarded, they are often portrayed as villains and enemies of the environment because they are asked to meet environmental demands and are denied resources because of a green radicalism that prevents climate targets being met,” he said.

He added that in order to achieve these goals, “in addition to telling people the truth,” it is necessary to be gradualist, not radical.

(Sara Madeira, edited by Pedro Sousa Carvalho | Lusa.pt)

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