"I have no doubt whatsoever that the money that has had the greatest impact on people's lives was the money that was managed by local authorities. I have no doubt about that," stated Manuel Castro Almeida, recalling the European support provided to Portugal to date.

According to the minister, "there is no one who cannot see a project funded by European funds" and "the same cannot be said of all funding programmes".

"And I have no doubt whatsoever that there is still a lot of waste throughout the public administration and also in European funds. It is obvious that there is and we all know it," he added.

In this sense, he argued that funding local authorities to implement projects "is the right way" for support to reach citizens, because "it is where there is greater control and greater adherence to solving people's specific problems".

The minister was speaking today at the signing ceremony for development contracts between the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) and seven inter-municipal communities (CIM), plus the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), a total of 86 municipalities, for an amount of 1.4 billion euros (ME) to be executed by 2029, under the Norte 2030 programme.

In the minister's view, the choice of Penedono, in the north of the district of Viseu, which is the municipality "with the smallest population in the entire Northern region, is a sign of solidarity and a reminder of the importance of cohesion" in the country.

"The smallest municipalities have to be part of our country. [...] When we have to discuss the whole country, it is essential that there is a reminder, an awareness of the reality of the smallest and most disadvantaged municipalities in our country. It is essential to combat desertification," he argued.

Manuel Castro Almeida warned of the need for "awareness" that European funds exist to "transform each part of the territory and, thus, transform the country" and this, he argued, requires responsibility.

"We have to have the best projects, achieve maximum financial efficiency, achieve maximum results with the least possible resources and do so on time. And we do not have to execute the funds in a hurry, but we have to execute them quickly and well," he argued.

The Deputy Minister and Minister for Territorial Cohesion also highlighted the "advantages" of the competences of the CCDRs, which coordinate decentralised services of various ministries and, now, it is "time to consolidate positions and prove ourselves".

"It is up to those who hate centralism to show the centralists that decentralisation and regional coordination bring advantages to citizens," he said.

"When citizens feel this advantage, it will be the citizens who will condition political thinking to take new steps forward," he added.

Manuel Castro Almeida also warned that, in the future, European funds "will have a very significant reduction", in relation to the amounts that have been allocated, taking into account Ukraine's accession to the European Union - which he supports. Therefore, the funds that currently exist "must be used very well", which "increases the responsibility" of those who manage them, he concluded.

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