LISBON (AWP/AFP) – The Portuguese government on Thursday unveiled a package of measures totaling 1.4 billion euros to help businesses deal with inflation, notably subject to a credit line and tax cuts.
Portugal’s Economy Minister Antonio Costa said the extraordinary business aid plan includes “measures totaling 1.4 billion euros” that “allow us to meet the needs of the moment”. Silva at a press conference.
This assistance includes in particular a 600-million-euro credit line, aid for gas-guzzling industries, subsidies for rail freight transport and even tax cuts.
“We will not be able to respond to all the problems,” admitted the minister, however, who encouraged companies to use the funds provided to speed up the energy transition in order to “cut the bill” associated with their energy consumption.
“We have to adapt to this new reality,” the minister stressed.
This plan comes in addition to the package of measures unveiled last week, to the tune of 2.4 billion euros, to help families cope with inflation that has risen sharply in recent months.
It is going through in particular a reduction in energy taxes, direct assistance to families, or an extraordinary increase in pensions.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa recently noted that inflation in Portugal has reached its highest level in 30 years.
The National Institute of Statistics (Ine) announced Monday that consumer prices slowed slightly in August to 8.9% over one year, from 9.1% in the previous month.
This decrease in particular can be explained by a less pronounced increase in energy costs.
On Monday, in an interview with TVI and CNN Portugal over the year as a whole, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the government is counting on inflation at 7.4%.
“The goal is to try to bring inflation back to the short-term target for the eurozone,” he said, ie 2% inflation.
afp / rp
