Court of Auditors warns of slow execution of Portugal 2020
The Court of Auditors (TC) releases a report this Tuesday that concludes that it is necessary to accelerate the pace of implementation of the 2020 community framework. execution was 60%, which is an annual average “much less than the amount available for the coming years”, which combines Portugal 2020 with the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The TC classifies the execution of Portugal 2020 as “slow” and the recurrent errors that are transversal to the corresponding tables, such as the “late start of the programmes”, delays “in the stabilization of the managing authorities” and the “insufficient human resources in the support structures”. For example, the previous community framework (QREN) was completed by the same teams that started Portugal 2020, which implied delays in the start-up of new funds.
It should be noted that Portugal is the second country in the European Union that most executed funds in the current community framework, as mentioned by minister Nelson de Souza, not contradictory requested by the TC. The problem, counters the Portuguese court, is that “the general picture in the European Union’s budget execution plan is of a worryingly low absorption rate”
attention to corruption
The need to accelerate the execution of Portugal 2020 must take into account the control mechanisms of the programmes, namely at the level of public contracting, the TC emphasizes: “There is room for improvement in the procedures for preventing fraud and corruption”.
The TC also appeals to “the responsible parties and control entities” to ensure the implementation of mechanisms that “promote the integrity of the interveners, prevent favoritism and verify the quality of the executions”.