The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations said the new rules on State aid, now approved by the European Commission, are of "fundamental importance" to the Azores.
 
Rui Bettencourt stressed that this represents a "paradigm shift" towards what the Regional Government has defended in recent years.
 
"The Government of the Azores has insisted on this strategy some time ago, choosing good allies in this fight. It has managed to speak with good interlocutors and knew to take action either directly with the European Commission or internally with the Portuguese Government," stressed the government official.
 
The Regional Secretary also said that it was this "insistence" on the fragility of Outermost Regions, and specifically of the Azores that contributed to the recently approved rules. He highlighted the fact that the Region is "far away from the European centres, being a geographically dispersed region with a fragile economy due to its size."
 
For Rui Bettencourt, this is "a paradigm that bring relief to us, namely in the development of cohesion policies for the Azores in the post 2020."
 
The government official also considered that it is possible to "develop these cohesion policies by envisaging a strategy of intervention with the Azorean economy that takes into account our actual needs and is not limited by competition rules, which have no reason to exist in the Azores."
 
The new State aid regulation exempts certain public support measures for ports, airports and cultural projects as well as for Outermost Regions, with the aim of facilitating public investment for job creation and growth and maintaining competition levels.
 
Moreover, Rui Bettencourt pointed out that these rules recognise that Outermost Regions as well as ports and airports with a certain size "may be supported with more funds." In this regard, he emphasised that, "in fact, some limits will cease to exist, namely in agriculture and fisheries, as these activity sectors are fundamental and important to the functioning of the regional economy."