Lisbon, March 21, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister of the economy, Pedro Reis, said on Friday that the country is divided between "reformists and situationists" and hopes that the early elections on 18 May will yield a "clarifying result".
The minister, who was speaking at a debate at the International Club Portugal, in Lisbon, under the motto ‘Challenges of the Portuguese Economy in the current international context’, added that "Portugal today is seen as a haven and a strategic hub" for investors.
The minister also said that today he sees "a new economic matrix" unfolding in Portugal, where "the government is simply easing taxation and bureaucracy" for companies and added that "one day it will be realised what an advantage it is for companies that [the ministries] of finance and the economy work hand in hand".
With regard to defence, Pedro Reis said that "all the companies capable of entering the cluster have already been screened", adding that a working group will be set up to monitor the issue.
In addition, the minister also said that he was working on "compiling financial instruments" from Europe and Portugal to ‘facilitate’ the sector and said that he wanted to "form partnerships with countries that want to form partnerships".
Pedro Reis also mentioned the need to change the ‘European agenda’ in the sense that "companies that gain size lose incentives" and added that "Europe has to find its bearings".
Regarding the public procurement system, the minister also put forward some opinions, saying that there was a need to "review the public accounts process" and align "procurement criteria".
The minister also said that "it is not possible to invest more without unlocking confidence in the public administration", adding that "there is a lot of deep work [to be done] on institutional architecture and debureaucratisation".
The minister also said that he was "designing an international network for investment partnerships" and added that it was important to "have the humility to understand what companies are asking for", adding that he already had programmes in place to approve guarantees under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
Pedro Reis also emphasised the importance of "enhancing the average wage" and said that "Portugal is moving into the area of qualifications" and that in order to retain talent "we have to pay better salaries".
The country's president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, decreed early elections for 18 May after parliament rejected a motion of confidence put forward by the government.
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