Filipe Amorim / LUSA
The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida
January changed the calendar, says Manuel Castro Almeida. The entire priority is to try to recover from the storms.
A restoration became a daily topic this week. The origin was an analysis by , which guaranteed – with numbers and graphs – that restaurants in Portugal are not in crisis, contradicting those responsible for the sector.
Santos Pereira would be reacting to the request from the Hotel, Restaurant and Similar Association of Portugal (AHRESP) for more support. General Secretary Ana Jacinto said that “it is time to implement some of the measures presented”.
Restaurant owners and the National Restaurant Association are quick to believe that Santos Pereira, governor of the Bank of Portugal, is not portraying the reality of restaurants – which, they repeat, is in crisis.
They ask for urgent support but the Minister of Economy has already come to put a brake on it: priorities are different.
The January storms changed the Ministry of Economy’s calendar: “The indication that AHRESP has is that the storms changed priorities. The calendar has changed. All priority is to try to recover from the storms”.
Manuel Castro Almeida left this “bucket of cold water” in . It was even a minister who, in January, announced support of thousands of euros for the restoration.
Support would be worth a maximum of R$60,000. 70% is refundable and 30% may be non-refundable. The measures would come into force in February.
But that announcement, in January, was made a week before the severe storms began.
