The President of the Government assured that the Regional Government has mobilised all tools at its disposal to support Azorean families and companies overcoming the difficult times the Region lived in the last three years.

"In the face of these challenging times, which were especially challenging for Azorean families and companies, the Government has always been ready to fight, mobilising all tools, within the limits of its resources and powers, to help the Azorean people overcoming in the best possible way the difficulties we have faced," said Vasco Cordeiro.

In the speech that ended the parliamentary debate on the Investment Plan and Budget for 2016, the President of the Government recalled that the Azores were "hit hard and intensely in the last three years by what we may call as a perfect storm." The difficult and severe situation in the international scene, especially in Europe, and the implementation of political options resulted in a harsh penalty for the income of families and companies.

"Those were very difficult days when banks limited the funding to the economy, which resulted in the stagnation of several economic sectors and the reduction of household income. This situation has led to a severe decline in consumption and to the emergence of dramatic social situations that were largely derived from unemployment; the latter registered high figures in our Region," said Vasco Cordeiro.

Faced with these challenges, as early as December 2012, less than 60 days after entering into office, the Regional Government presented the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness as an essential tool to overcome what the Government assumed as the main goal in this legislative period: employment creation.

"The accomplishment of this goal involved the joint efforts of the Government, entrepreneurs and workers. The decisive influence of the Azorean Agenda is quite visible: more than 33 thousand Azoreans and 3,000 companies were covered by its measures," noted the President of the Government.

In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro also highlighted that the partnership between the Government, entrepreneurs and workers in the implementation of the Agenda contributed to the decline of the regional unemployment rate from a maximum of 18% to 12%, according to the data released by the National Statistics Institute regarding the third quarter of 2015.

"When the Government entered into office in 2012, it became involved in this fight towards economic recovery and employment creation, while supporting social areas and the most vulnerable sectors of our society," reminded Vasco Cordeiro.
 
"We are also doing everything within the reach of our powers and resources to improve the living conditions of the Azorean population," ensured Vasco Cordeiro. In this regard, the President of the Government pointed out the Supplement for the Purchase of Medicine that covers more 5,600 senior citizens, the Regional Pension Supplement that mobilises more than 25 million Euros to support Azorean retirees, and the Regional Family Allowance Supplement for Children and Youth.

Vasco Cordeiro stressed that the Regional Government has not only responded to social and economic emergencies in the Region, but has also rolled up the sleeves to build the "new foundations for the development of the Region."

"Under the new Community Support Framework 2014-2020, we have negotiated the new EU funds allocated to our Region with the success that can be measured by the fact that the Regional Government has been able to not only maintain but even to slightly increase the Community funding for the Azores in a context marked by the widespread reduction of funds from the EU budget as well as of the funds available for each country," said the President of the Government.

Moreover, the Government has implemented the new incentive scheme for private investment, COMPETIR+, which aims to promote exports, quality and innovation. This tool is at the service of a coherent and coordinated development strategy.

"Bearing in mind that the applications to this scheme opened in 2015, the private investment projects submitted in less than a year already exceed 25 million Euros," said Vasco Cordeiro.

Given the relevant impact of transports on the whole economy, especially in the tourism sector, the Government has successfully negotiated a new air accessibility model for the Region, protecting the Azorean population.

 Following its implementation, the Government has also revised the Public Service Obligations for inter-island air transport.

"As a result of these measures, the air mobility of the Azorean population has been improved, with an increased supply of flights at lower prices, and the regional tourism sector has reinforced the path of recovery it had been following since the end of 2014. This prepared us for one the best years in the Azorean tourism sector, both in terms of overnight stays and revenue," said Vasco Cordeiro.