The CIP – Business Confederation of Portugal warns of the need for “emergency responses” and “prevention and economic relaunch measures in the most affected sectors”after the devastating passage of depression Kristin, which is now joined by forecasts of intense rain for the coming days.
For Armindo Monteiro, president of CIP, “it is essential that, by the end of February, the affected companies have received the first support and started their processes of recovering manufacturing activity and assets”. Industrial units, agribusiness, logistics, private hospitalization, shopping centers and tourism are activities that require urgent support.
In a statement, CIP argues that, “at this critical moment, it is essential that the productive machine can continue to function, providing goods and services to the entire population in the country and fulfilling its commitments with orders abroad”.
“Economic activity cannot stop”, highlights Armindo Monteiro, in the statement.
Even before this Sunday’s anticipated Council of Ministers, the CIP proposed to the government the launch of “exceptional measures, mobilizing European funds to support companies, whether from the Cohesion Fund or surplus funds from the PRR”. He also suggested the creation of “lines of credit with subsidized interest, or mutual guarantees to leverage bank loans.”
“In addition to the measures themselves, it is very important that the government legislate the exemption from the authorization provided for granting financial aid or the conclusion of a contract or protocol between entities such as IAPMEI or AICEP, local authorities or the CCDR, for the allocation and management of support to affected companies”, states Armindo Monteiro.
As he adds, “the speed of granting support is, in this case, as important as the support itself”.
The CIP also proposed that the support to be granted could dispense with prior approval from the Court of Auditors, being granted under the exceptional public procurement regime, so that they can quickly reach the business field.
Since Wednesday, the CIP has had a Crisis Office in operation which, in conjunction with sectoral, regional and local business associations, as well as various public administration entities, is compiling the damage suffered by the economic fabric.
According to it, There is a wide range of damage, from companies without electricity to operate, to others that, because they are completely destroyed, will need months to resume their activity, possibly resorting to lay-off. Lack of communications, non-fulfillment of orders or breaks in value chains are other reported situations.
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