Completing the anti-Covid-19 vaccination plan and "reviving the economy" are two of the priorities outlined today by the prime minister in a New Year message in which he asks the Portuguese to continue an "extraordinary mobilization".
In a New Year's message published today in Jornal de Notícias, António Costa states that «the priority of priorities» is vaccination against Covid-19, to achieve «the longed-for group immunity», although the process extends until «the end of the first quarter of 2022'.
“If the vaccines that are under development are successful, if those that are already in approval are approved, if no problems occur with the production of the vaccine that is already being administered, everything will continue to go as planned and by the end of the summer it is possible that we achieve the longed-for group immunity», reads the message.
On the day that Portugal begins the rotating presidency of the European Union, the prime minister recalls that one of the objectives is to ensure the start of the Recovery and Resilience Program, and the respective national plans, including that of Portugal.
“Our plan responds to the urgency of reviving the economy, but it does not forget or sacrifice the great strategic challenges we face. (…) It is a plan for unique opportunities”, not least because “the crisis caused by this pandemic has generated dramatic situations of poverty and inequality”, warned António Costa.
The economic recovery, explains the Head of Government, will imply "a robust and transversal package of support to companies".
«Between March and December, we added more than 21 billion euros in support to the economy and employment. In 2021, we extended Support for Progressive Recovery, expanded and made the Apoiar Program more flexible, which allows for covering part of the fixed costs of companies most affected by the crisis, and launched new mechanisms to support commercial revenues," he said.
In the New Year message, António Costa speaks of «herculean task».
“For this reason, the extraordinary mobilization of the Portuguese must continue, now geared towards reconstruction. This is a turning point, which will be decisive for Portugal», he appealed.
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