The PSD/Algarve went public with rejecting the cut of about 3 million in transfers to the Algarve's municipalities foreseen in the proposed State Budget for 2014. The Social Democrats will request a meeting "as a matter of urgency" to the Secretary of State for Local Administration António Leitão Amaro, to speak of “compensatory measures”.
Defending equity in the distribution of cuts in transfers to local authorities, the district leader of the PSD Luís Gomes calls for "special attention to the Algarve, one of the regions most penalized by the crisis, namely in the area of employment".
“A policy that enhances investments in our region is indispensable and urgent. Economic growth, due to the increase in investment, should be our main concern in implementing the funds available from the next state budget», defended Luís Gomes.
Although the European Union has accepted to increase the Cohesion Funds destined for the Algarve, which between 2014 and 2020 will reach 238 million euros (there were only 175 million between 2007 and 2013), «we cannot accept that, from a single budget, the government withdraw 3 million euros directly from local authorities in the region».
«For the PSD/Algarve, the region, namely its municipalities, have been doubly penalized by the crisis because the dependence on municipal taxes on real estate is high, which, with the break in the dynamics of the construction sector, has led to very high falls in municipal revenues. Additionally, the Algarve's municipalities are called upon to respond to a substantial increase in population during the summer season, which forces them to maintain essential structures that are highly oversized», considered the Algarve social democrats, in a press release.
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