Azores are the Portuguese region that has better used Community funds

The Regional Director for Planning and Structural Funds stated on the island of Faial on Monday that the Azores are the Portuguese region that has better used Community funding.

The guarantee was provided by Rui Amann on the sidelines of the 5th Meeting of the Monitoring Commission of the Operational Programmes PROCONVERGENCIA AND PRO-EMPREGO, which is chairing.

According to him, the Azores are the Region that has registered the best levels of performance and capacity of absorbing Community funds, achieving better results with the application of these Community funds at a national context.”

For Rui Amann, this fact is “important” as we are “at a critical stage regarding the beginning of negotiation for the next programme period.” At this time, it is fundamental that EU authorities be aware that the Azores have the necessary financial and material capacity, allowing a good application of funds and we have managed to deliver satisfactory results.

Regarding PROCONVERGENCIA, the Regional Director for Planning and Structural Funds added that 800 projects have been approved under this programme since its implementation in 2007.

“We have a public expenditure execution of around 500 million Euros,” Rui Amann said, adding that the programme, through the reimbursement of the expenditure made, has already introduced “nearly 400 million Euros” in the regional economy.

Questioned on the payment of compensations to SATA, the Regional Director stated that they “already are reimbursable by the programme” in the context of the specific condition of the Azores as outermost region.

The situation is the result of a negotiation that the Regional Government “conducted very well,” through which we are benefiting from that exception, but “the idea is to maintain this benefit in the future, stressed Rui Amann.

The 5th Meeting of the Monitoring Commission of the Operational Programmes and PROCONVERGENCIA AND PRO-EMPREGO are taking place at the Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Centre. The event is being attended representatives of the European Commission, who supervise the national coordination of structural funds, economic and social partners as well as by regional directors and technicians from the areas covered by these structural funds.