Communiqué from the Council of the Government - Communication

The Council of the Government, which met on April 3, 2025, in Velas, São Jorge island, decided to adopt the following measures:

1. Adopt the Resolution approving the transfer of the maximum amount of €5,227,766.00 to the Financing Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries
(IFAP) regarding the payment of the "2nd-semester cattle slaughter premium" under the "Animal production premium" measure of the POSEI-Azores sub-programme.

This support is intended to fulfil the commitments made by the Regional Government to Azorean farmers. Aligned with the XIV Programme of the Government, the Resolution now approved aims to achieve a sustained increase in farmers' income, progressive local food self-sufficiency in some sectors, especially on the smaller islands more prone to bad weather that could jeopardise their supply, and an end to the apportionments under the said POSEI Programme.

2. Approve the transfer of a maximum amount of €1,238,882.00 to IFAP concerning the payment of aid for the Maintenance of Vineyards for the Production of Wines bearing the Designation of Origin and the Geographical Indication under the POSEI Programme in Portugal for the Region.

The allocation of aid for the Maintenance of Vineyards regarding the Production of Wines bearing the Designation of Origin and Geographical Indication is intended to meet the commitments to continue promoting a sustained increase in farmers' income. It also fulfils the commitment to end apportionments, as set out in the Programme of the XIV Government of the Azores.

3. Ratify the signing of the protocol between the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food, the Regional Secretariat for Education, Culture and Sport, the municipalities of Velas and Calheta and the Confraria do Queijo de São Jorge (São Jorge Cheese Brotherhood) to register the product's "traditional knowledge and production techniques" as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

4. Approve the Resolution authorising the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food to grant extraordinary financial support for purchasing fibrous concentrate to feed the Region's livestock.

5. Approve the Resolution authorising the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food to grant extraordinary financial support for purchasing straw, pressed hay and alfalfa to diversify the diet of the Region's livestock.

6. Approve the proposal for a Regional Legislative Decree establishing the Recruitment and Selection Commission for the Regional Public Administration and adapting the Statute for the Management of Central, Regional and Local State Administration Services and Organisations to the Region.

This proposal for a Regional Legislative Decree aims to establish a new way of recruiting middle managers, maintaining the application procedure as the form of recruitment. Nevertheless, for these situations, it establishes that it will be carried out by a Recruitment and Selection Commission for the Regional Public Administration on a model similar to the one that exists at a national level for the recruitment of senior managers.

This solution has the merit of introducing greater transparency, impartiality, rigour and independence to a procedure intended to select the best profile for a position in the regional public administration. The establishment of an independent commission - an intrinsic feature of this entity's role - ensures that the recruitment of middle managers in the regional public administration is exclusively based on the principles of competence and merit, aligned with the goals set out in the programme of the XIV Government of the Azores.

7. Approve the Regional Implementing Decree establishing the Regional Health Purchasing Centre, through which the Regional Directorate for Health can enter into public procurement contracts to establish conditions for the supply of specific goods and services to the health sector. It will have the possibility of awarding tenders at the request of, and on behalf of, the purchasing entities in the leasing or acquisition of goods or services intended for them.

8. Approve the Resolution authorising the signing of the contract programme with the Association for the Development and Training of the Azores Sea, with a view to ensuring the implementation of the Activity Plan for  2025,  amounting to €262,500.00.

9. Approve the Resolution increasing the amount of the financial contribution granted to SATA - Air Açores for the 2024 operation of the Interjovem Card. The increase is due to the success of the measure and the strong take-up by young Azoreans.

10. Approve the Resolution authorising the signing of a contract programme between the Region and GeoAçores - Azores Geopark Association, amounting to €75,000.00, for the operation of the association, the monitoring, enhancement and promotion of geosites.  It will also cover the dissemination and training in the geodiversity of the Azores, and ensure the commitments to the Global Network and the European Geoparks Network.