The Vice-President of the Government said today that the Government welcomes "with satisfaction" the membership of Azorean companies to the measures provided under the new Community Support Framework.

"At this time, over 92 percent of the applications to the incentive schemes SIDER and Youth Entrepreneurship in 2014 were already submitted under the new Community Support Framework."

"This will allow the full registration of the 540 applications submitted in 2014 by the end of the week," Sérgio Ávila stressed, adding that the Government will ensure "not only the quick approval of all applications that are able to be approved," but also ensures "additional benefits" to businesspeople.

"By being included in the new Community Support Framework, applications are no longer limited to the requirement for projects to be completed by the end of this year."

"With this decision, the Government of the Azores extends the implementation deadline of these 540 projects for another year, which will have a very positive effect on regional economic activity," said the government official.

Sérgio Avila stressed "the membership and support" showed by the "majority of entrepreneurs" regarding the decision taken by the Government. As he revealed, the Azores are "the first and, so far, the only region of the country where companies and entrepreneurs can benefit from the measures provided in the new Community Support Framework. Hence, they can start the implementation of their projects, which does not happen in other parts of the country."

Therefore, the Vice-President of the Government stressed that "there is no ground for any question raised by some Chamber of Commerce." As he revealed, all 540 companies were notified and "the majority of them joined immediately and supported this decision."

As the government reiterated, this decision "speeds up the approval of projects and the allocation of funds and extends the implementation deadline of projects, bringing more stability."

"Hence, we do not understand any question that might be raised by any entity within the Chambers of Commerce," Sérgio Ávila stressed, adding that this is a situation that "does not reflect the opinion of the majority of the companies that were notified."