Communiqué from the Council of the Government - Communication

The Council of the Government, which met on June 26, 2025, in Ponta Delgada, decided to adopt the following measures:

1. Approve the Resolution determining, for the year 2025, the amounts to be allocated to each type of support provided for in the Azores Private Media Incentive System (SIM), with an overall financial impact of €1,800,000.00.

The Azores Private Media Incentive Scheme aims to consolidate the sustainability and pluralism of the private media in the Azores, acknowledging its essential role in promoting democracy, territorial cohesion and access to local information.

With this measure, the Regional Government reiterates its commitment to valuing the media sector and preserving press freedom and information diversity in the archipelago, especially relevant in a context of geographical dispersion and remoteness.

The amount of support now approved will be distributed among the various types of support provided for in the SIM, namely:

• Support for the regular operation of the media;

• Support for technological modernisation;

• Support for the digital transition;

• Support for the professional qualification of human resources;

• Support for the promotion of media literacy and the fight against disinformation.

The Regional Government reiterates that it will continue to monitor and evaluate the implementation of SIM, ensuring transparency, fairness and efficiency in the use of public resources allocated to the media sector.

As it should be noted, SIM is one of the pillars of the Regional Government's plan for private media outlets. This system is complemented by a training programme for journalists, a programme for purchasing subscriptions to regional newspapers, an institutional advertising component and the full implementation of the National Plan to support the sector in the Region.

2. Approve the Resolution establishing the Regional Plan for Social Inclusion and Citizenship 2025-2028 (PRISC 2025-2028).

The Regional Plan for Social Inclusion and Citizenship, 2025-2028, is guided by the United Nations' first sustainable development goal, which sets the target of "ending extreme poverty everywhere" by 2030. It also draws on the European Commission's Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights, which prioritises a significant reduction in the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 2030.

PRISC aims to continue the effective response to poverty and social exclusion developed by the coalition governments, enhancing the response capacity of policies aimed at tackling poverty and social exclusion, continuing to improve conditions for economic development and promoting social inclusion, breaking the cycle of poverty.

In this regard, PRISC emerges as a focused plan with measures aimed directly at individuals and households in situations of or at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with a view to fully assuming rights, with five strategic components: Income, Education and Training, Work, Housing and Health.

The overall objective of PRISC is to reduce monetary poverty by 40% in the Autonomous Region of the Azores from 2025 to 2028, with an annual reduction of 10%.

3. Approve the Resolution authorising the procurement of the design/construction of the São Roque and Livramento Health Unit and the Maia Health Unit on the island of São Miguel.

With the approval of this Resolution, the Regional Government is continuing its goal of providing local health services, meeting the needs of citizens and, thus, improving their quality of life.

The future São Roque and Livramento Health Unit in Ponta Delgada will serve the residents of these parishes. This new centre will reduce pressure on the Ponta Delgada Health Centre and improve access to and quality of health care. The project will have a base price of €4,900,000.00 and should be completed in eight months.

The Maia Health Unit in Ribeira Grande will replace the current facilities with a modern and functional environment for users and professionals. The construction has a base price of €2,900,000 and a completion period of eight months.

4. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree amending the Regional Implementing Decree approving the organisational structure and management staff of the Azores Oncology Centre (COA).

5. Approve the Resolution amending the "Regulations Supporting the Certification of Organic Production Methods."

6. Approve the Resolution declaring the public utility, as a matter of urgency, for the compulsory purchase of the plot of land necessary for the implementation of the Pico Vermelho Geothermal Power Plant Expansion Project, whose investment is included in the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

7. Approve the Resolution recognising the public interest of the construction of a water reservoir for public supply, to be installed in the parish of Achadinha, municipality of Nordeste, promoted by the company Nordeste Ativo, E. M., S.A., which is located within the Regional Agricultural Reserve, given the lack of a technically or economically acceptable alternative to the proposed location. 

8. Adopt the Resolution approving the Report on the Accounts of the Autonomous Region of the Azores for the financial year 2024.

9. Approve the Resolution approving applications for the legal and financial support scheme for climate emergencies, covering damage caused by extreme weather events in the parish of S. Roque in the municipality of Ponta Delgada and in the parishes of Faial da Terra and Ribeira Quente, both in the municipality of Povoação.

10. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree that partially suspends the Ribeira Grande Municipal Master Plan, with the sole and exclusive purpose of enabling the legal procedures to be observed for the various uses of the exhibition park, located within the premises of the São Miguel Agricultural Association/Agricultural Union Cooperative.

11. Approve the Resolution authorising the list of approved, unselected and rejected applications for 2025 under the legal framework for technical and financial cooperation between the Regional Administration, parishes and parish associations of the Region.