José Manuel Bolieiro highlights RTRP as opportunity to strengthen Azores' resilience - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The President of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, received the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Rui Rocha, today at the Sant'Ana Palace, in a meeting focused on strengthening institutional cooperation and reflection on the challenges of civil protection in the Region.

The meeting was an opportunity to foster closer relations between the Azorean Government and the National Government in this area, underlining the importance of dialogue and coordination between institutions to better respond to the needs of the population.

The head of the Azorean Government highlighted that the meeting was another opportunity to share experiences and strengthen the culture of civil protection, praising the work developed by institutions and agents in the field. He emphasised, in particular, the role of humanitarian associations of volunteer firefighters, as well as the coordination between municipal civil protection and the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service.

At the hearing, one of the key topics discussed was the RTRP – Portugal Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, a tool created by the National Government to address the impacts of extreme weather events and prepare the country for future challenges.

The President of the Azorean Government considered this programme a “strategic opportunity” to strengthen the territory’s resilience, defending that the RTRP should finance areas that have been left out of other EU funds.

"This opportunity should focus on recovery, resilience and transformation, especially in areas that unfortunately have not received EU funding," he stressed.

José Manuel Bolieiro stressed, in particular, the need for investment in road infrastructures, which has been excluded from European co-financing over the years. In this regard, he defended that the new financial tool should not only allow for damage to be repaired, but also to "modernise and strengthen" this infrastructure.

For the head of the Azorean Government, the RTRP should go beyond an immediate response to the damage caused by extreme phenomena and take on a strategic view, with a multi-year financial envelope, similar to the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) model.

The President of the Regional Government also stressed that the implementation of the programme must consider the reality of the Azores as an archipelago, noting that the geographical dispersion across nine islands places additional demands on infrastructure and mobility.

"Our road, port and airport infrastructures need investment to strengthen their resilience and ability to safely respond to the mobility needs of the Azorean population," he said.

José Manuel Bolieiro also defended that, in the allocation of funding, consideration should be given to the specific characteristics of the Region.

"One cannot apply equal treatment to unequal situations," he stated, considering that the archipelago reality of the Azores must be duly taken into account when defining financial support.

The head of the Azorean government expressed his expectation that the RTRP would guarantee a high percentage of support from the National Government for the Region's transformation and resilience projects.

The meeting ended with a commitment to continue joint work between both governments, strengthening institutional cooperation and preparing the territory to face future risks and challenges.

The meeting ended with a commitment to continue joint work between both governments, strengthening institutional cooperation and preparing the territory to face future risks and challenges.