The Left Block wants to know when the «many millions of euros» of the recovery plan for the region will arrive in the Algarve that «has still not passed the paper».
In a statement, the blocists emphasize that “the pandemic has exposed the weaknesses of the country and, in particular, of regions such as the Algarve, which live almost exclusively from tourism. It is the region where unemployment has increased the most – there are already more than 35 unemployed and there are thousands of micro and small businesses that will go bankrupt, further increasing the number of people out of work if they are not properly supported».
The Left Bloc says that the Government "announced a recovery plan for the Algarve, but it has not gone beyond the paper" and that "it is urgently necessary to support workers, families and companies".
This money should also be used, defends BE, to «make the investments that the Algarve needs, namely for the modernization of public services, the construction of the new Central Hospital, the fight against desertification and regional interiority, support for small production agricultural and for the modernization of the fishing fleet and its infrastructures, the investment in renewable energies and new technologies, better mobility, the implementation of the water efficiency plan to face the lack of water and climate change, etc».
However, «there is a lot of talk and writing about the many millions of euros that will come to the Algarve, under the Regional Operational Plan, the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Operational Program for Cross-border Cooperation Spain/Portugal and others plans, but nothing has yet reached the region».
Blocists want to know «what is the amount and when will these funds reach the Algarve? Which sectors will be supported?"
According to the Left Bloc, "all these questions were put to the minister of Planning this Wednesday, at a hearing in the Assembly of the Republic, by deputy João Vasconcelos, elected by the Algarve."
Even so, says BE, on the issues raised, «the minister did little, saying what was already known – that under the structural funds the Algarve would receive an additional amount of 300 million euros, obtained at a meeting of the European Council where the Recovery and Resilience Plan was negotiated”.
For the secretariat of the Left Block of the Algarve, these funds, which "we don't know when" will arrive, will still be "very insufficient".
While the money does not arrive, «the Algarve, its workers, families, companies, populations, are slowly dying, plunged into a brutal economic and social crisis that has yet to hit the bottom. The consequences will be catastrophic and devastating if the government does not act quickly and properly», concludes the bloquist communiqué.
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