Communiqué from the Council of the Government - Communication

The Council of the Government, which met on March 4, 2026, in Madalena, Pico Island, took note of the Final Report drawn up by the Jury of International Public Tender No. SATA-01/2023 of February 22, 2026, namely the fact that the conditions for selecting the final proposal submitted by the competing group MS Aviation/ New Tour Group under the current procedure have not been met. It decided not to oppose the report's recommendations so that the Board of Directors of SATA Holding, S.A. can make its decision, as it should, while respecting the full independence that the jury and the Board of Directors of SATA Holding, S.A. have always upheld.

The Council of the Government also adopted the following measures:

1. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree amending the Regional Implementing Decree defining the system for granting incentives to medical staff in the Region, making it more attractive to doctors working at the Pico Island Health Unit.

In the Regional Health Service, despite the positive results and progress achieved, there is still a shortage of medical staff, notwithstanding the legislative measures adopted. Some difficulties remain in the area of recruitment and, particularly, in retaining medical staff in the Regional Health Service and in certain geographical areas of thearchipelago.

This shortage of medical staff has led to the need to improve and expand the system of incentives for medical staff to settle in the Region, so as to attract more doctors to fill positions that have proved difficult to fill, as is the case on Pico Island.

This Regional Implementing Decree, now approved, provides for a higher financial incentive for medical staff to be hired for the Pico Island, given the shortage of doctors in the respective Health Unit.

2. Approve the Resolution determining the application of incentives for the stability of duly qualified teaching staff in school establishments within the regional education system in internal and external application procedures for the 2026/2027 school year.

The XIV Government of the Azores aims, as stated in its Government Programme and Annual Regional Plan, to regulate the recruitment of teaching staff by implementing incentives to be applied to the islands, organisational units and recruitment groups with the greatest needs.

In this context, it hereby determines the implementation of incentives for the stability of duly qualified teaching staff in school establishments within the regional education system in internal and external applications for the 2026/2027 school years. The Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport is authorised to grant support, particularly in terms of accommodation and travel, to promote the stability of teaching staff.

3. Approve the Resolution establishing, for 2026, the amounts of the Fund for the Development of the Azorean Parishes allocated to each of the technical and financial cooperation mechanisms provided for in Regional Legislative Decree No. 6/2024/A of August 8.

In 2026, the amounts of the Fund for the Development of Azorean Parishes allocated to each category of technical and financial cooperation with Azorean parish councils are as follows:

a) Cooperation agreements for investments or other public expenditure within the remit of parishes – €1,000,000.00 (one million Euros);

b) Collaboration agreements for investments or other public expenditure within the remit of the Regional Autonomous Administration – €6,000,000.00 (six million Euros);

c) Coordination agreements for investments or other public expenditure, jointly respecting the powers of the Autonomous Regional Administration and Parishes - €1,000,000.00 (one million Euros).

4. Approve the Resolution appointing the President of the Board of Directors and the Clinical Director of the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, respectively, Dr Carlos Pinto Lopes and Dr Paula Macedo.

5. Approve the Resolution appointing the new Board of Directors of Horta Hospital, comprising Maria Teresa Fortuna de Faria Ribeiro Cândido as President, Maria de Fátima Alves Pinto Azevedo as Clinical Director, and Maria Salomé Dias de Matos as Head Nurse.

6. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree amending the Regional Implementing Decree regulating the granting of support for the purchase of maize and sorghum seeds for the production of fodder or grain maize in the Region.

7. Approve the Resolution authorising the transfer, free of charge, of part of section A of the urban property located at Rua Conselheiro Terra Pinheiro, no. 2, in Madalena, Pico Island, to the Azores Vine and Wine Institute.