Lisbon, Nov. 29, 2024 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Trade and Services Confederation (CCP) believes that the approval of the 2025 state budget (OE2025) marks a "new cycle of political stability" that the government should take advantage of to launch measures centred on economic growth.
"The approval of the state budget for 2025 marks the start of a new cycle of political stability that the government should take advantage of to launch measures that put economic growth at the centre of its priorities," the CCP said in a statement.
For the association, the approval of the OE2025 "is positive, but insufficient for companies": "Despite meeting expectations regarding the fulfilment of what was agreed between the government and the social partners under the ‘Tripartite Agreement on Wage Enhancement and Economic Growth 2025-2028’, signed last October, these measures are very limited in scope," it says.
"Having resolved the issue of the state budget," the CCP says that "what companies are waiting for - especially those in the trade and services sectors - is for the government to carry out the agreed programmes as quickly as possible and with the minimum of bureaucracy."
In this context, the president of the CCP emphasises the urgent need to implement the projects agreed within the scope of Portugal 2030 and the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), "so that companies can finally see the results they were promised satisfied".
"Although we continue to regard this state budget as a missed opportunity to launch the necessary reforms for the country, and for companies in particular, we consider it very positive that the measures included in the agreement recently reached at the statutory tripartite talks between the government, employers and unions have been approved, which would have been seriously jeopardised if the outcome of the parliamentary negotiations had been different," said João Vieira Lopes, quoted in the statement.
Since "the promised 'tax shock' didn't materialise", the association leader says it is "necessary to find other mechanisms to facilitate business activity".
"For example, the ‘package of 60 measures for the Portuguese economy’, presented in July, needs to be quickly updated," he says, adding that it needs to take into account "not only the measures approved in the state budget and the international context but, fundamentally, it needs to be a plan aimed at the economy as a whole, making up for previous shortcomings, namely the absence of measures aimed at the trade and services sector, such as those contained in the Agenda for Competitiveness in Trade and Services".
In addition, the CCP president calls for "a new impetus to the statutory tripartite talks between the government, employers and unions", advocating "the start of discussions that are of interest to companies", such as making labour legislation more flexible or discussing the sustainability of social security, particularly "the weight of social benefits for companies".
The draft bill for the state budget for 2025 was approved today in the final overall vote with votes in favour from the two parties supporting the government, PSD and CDS-PP, and PS abstaining.
The other opposition parties - Chega, IL, BE, PCP, Livre and PAN - voted against.
This was the first state budget presented by the XXIV Constitutional Government, led by Luís Montenegro, and its approval in the final overall vote received a standing ovation in parliament from the PSD and CDS-PP benches.
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