The Vice-President announced in Horta that, because of the "major effort to consolidate public accounts" undertaken by the Regional Government, the clearance of accounts and regional estimates for 2017 demonstrate that the Azores have managed to "reduce the deficit from 1.6 percent (in 2016) to only 1.4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."
 
Sérgio Ávila spoke at the Legislative Assembly, pointing out that the deficit is at 57 million Euros, i.e., "it is less than the 60 million Euros authorised by this Parliament just for the direct administration" in 2017 and without taking into account public companies.
 
Nevertheless, the Vice-President stated that the Region's final result for 2017 "includes not only the direct administration (governmental departments) but also indirect administration, the variation of debt to suppliers - administrative debt - and the results of all companies belonging to the Region's Public Business Sector (SPER)."
 
"This means that indirect administration, public companies and the variation of administrative debt (to suppliers) registered a positive result in public accounts, which resulted in a deficit figure even lower than that authorised by the Assembly for the direct administration," said the government official.
 
"When the country is satisfied for having achieved a deficit of 2.1 percent in 2016, which was the lowest ever in the history of democracy, we can say that the last year - with the consolidation of results achieved by hospitals and other public companies - we have achieved a deficit of only 1.4 percent of the GDP," added Sérgio Ávila.
 
This percentage, he stressed, "is less than half of what the European Union requires for countries in terms of convergence." In this context, he added that the consolidated results (including direct and indirect administration and companies) were calculated and estimated by the Region based on the rules set by the Bank of Portugal, the National Statistics Institute and in accordance with EU rules.
 
With regard to public debt, the Vice-President also revealed that, considering the direct administration and public companies, it stood at 41.6 per cent of GDP in 2017, i.e., "less than half the EU average."
 
"What we want to say today is that the Region's debt - including public companies, funds and autonomous services - only represents 41.6 percent of what we produce. In fact, it is less than half the European average, less than a third of national debt and also less than a third the debt registered by the Autonomous Region of Madeira," said the government official.
 
According to the Regional Government's estimates, the government added that, by the end of 2017, public debt liabilities for the next generations "are less than half the average of European Union countries and less than a third of the national average," thus ensuring the Region's financial sustainability.
 
The Vice-President further pointed out that the guarantees granted by the Region - not included in the debt amount - will be reduced by 775 million Euros. As he revealed, this is another effect of the Public Business Sector reform pursued by the Government of the Azores.
 
Sérgio Ávila stressed that the Public Business Sector reform involves public companies whose results are already considered for the purpose of public accounts. However, these results achieved in 2017 are not being announced "to say that everything is okay."
 
"What we do is to reform, restructure and improve what needs to be improved. Are there still issues to solve in the Regional Public Business Sector? Yes. Problems are effectively solved by restructuring, reforming, improving and changing. And that is what we are doing," said the government official.
 
"We do it because it was the right moment, because it was the moment when the regional economy was able to absorb this restructuring and this reform," said Sérgio Ávila. He added that this process is carried out by "safeguarding rights, assuming responsibilities and ensuring that the Region will have the conditions to provide an even better public service."
 
"Bearing in mind that public companies aim to provide public service and, for the Government, this is a non-negotiable asset," stressed the Vice-President.