Communiqué from the Council of the Government - Communication

The Council of the Government, which met on September 17, 2025, in Ponta Delgada, decided to adopt the following measures:

1. Approve the Resolution granting support to private and cooperative educational establishments providing middle school, junior high school and secondary education for the purchase of digital textbooks.

Under the RRP, the Regional Government considered investment in digital education to be strategic, with a view to ensuring access to the information society, promoting equal opportunities and bringing about significant improvements in learning resources, aligned with the European Union's Digital Education Action Plan.

In this context, the process begun in 2023 to modernise technological resources in schools is still ongoing, through the acquisition of computer equipment, specialised equipment and laboratory equipment for use by students and teachers, as well as the creation of innovative teaching environments.

This is linked to the essential installation or restructuring of Internet and wireless networks, increasing connectivity, as well as the acquisition and creation of digital educational resources aimed at the progressive dematerialisation of school textbooks.

This justifies the continued granting of support to private and cooperative educational establishments that offer middle school, junior high school, and secondary education, specifically for the acquisition of digital textbooks through the establishment of an incentive system.

For the above, the amount of €350,000.00 is set as the overall budget ceiling for the financial support to be granted.

2. Approve the Resolution amending the rules on the allocation of subsidies to passengers residing in the Autonomous Region of the Azores for inter-island air travel – “Azores Fare."  

In 2025, the Azoreans are firmly committed to this measure, which is fulfilling its purpose of promoting greater movement of people and goods between the islands, giving rise to a renewed economic and social dynamics in the Region.

The significant uptake of the “Azores Fare” by Azoreans entails increased expenditure on subsidies for passengers residing in the Region.

The recently approved amendment to the regulation on the allocation of aid to passengers residing in the Region for inter-island air travel provides a framework for this increase in expenditure to guarantee the allocation of aid for the remaining months of 2025.

With the approval of this Resolution, the amount of the so-called "Azores Fare" is increased by €4,500,000.00, totalling €13,500,000.00 in 2025.

Furthermore, eligibility control mechanisms are being refined to ensure that the subsidy is granted exclusively to residents of the Region, in accordance with the “Azores Fare” Rules.

3. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree governing the Legal Framework for Support to the Social Welfare System in the Region.  

The implementation of a fair and equitable social welfare system, respecting the principle of solidarity, requires complementarity between the various actors pursuing goals in this area.

It is important to encourage private initiative in social welfare by granting financial support, in addition to that allocated within the framework of cooperation established with the solidarity and social sector, as well as expanding and harnessing the existing and potential resources to achieve these same goals, notwithstanding the implementation of support programmes aimed at individuals.

Regional Legislative Decree No. 8/2025/A provides a framework for implementing this type of support, establishing a guiding basis for pursuing these goals.

It is now necessary to create the mechanisms that enable its implementation, through the respective regulations, in compliance with the principles of transparency and the pursuit of the public interest, and with a view to ensuring greater effectiveness and control of the support granted.

4. Approve the Resolution authorising the transfer of the amount of €1,455,394.36 to IFAP, I.P., for the payment of expenses incurred with the application of Community regulations under the EAFRD (Intervention E.10 – Agri-environmental and Climate Measures), corresponding to the Region's contribution.