Resumption of international tourism is a priority for Portugal
“The importance of tourism and international tourism is not a temporary factor for the Portuguese economy, so its re-launch is strategically a priority,” said Paolo Gentiloni, in an interview with Lusa and other European media, in Brussels.
Speaking on the day the European Commission improved as a result of growth for the Portuguese economy to 4.5% this year and 5.3% next year, the European commissioner underlined that “the revival of global tourism is essential for the economies Portuguese, Greek or Spanish”.
Even so, Paolo Gentiloni pointed out that this recovery is related to “visa regimes and the evolution of the pandemic”, not dependent on internal factors.
In the macroeconomic changes announced today, the European Commission improves as a result of growth for the Portuguese economy to 4.5% this year and 5.3% next year, an event that is, however, below those of the Government.
In the document, Brussels says that “foreign tourism has also started to recover, but has remained sick below the pre-pandemic level”.
For this reason, “the balance of risks seems slightly negative due to the large dimension of foreign tourism, where uncertainty is based on high”, adds the community executive.
In these transports, Brussels still expects that the Portuguese deficit will reach 4.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and that the public debt will reach 128.1% of the GDP this year, changes worse than those of the Government.
On the other hand, the European executive estimates that a Portuguese unemployment rate will reach 6.7% this year, a more optimistic forecast than that of the Government (6.8%), foreseeing subsequent declines in 2022 and 2023.
Asked in an interview by Lusa about the requirements of the energy crisis for the Portuguese economy, Paolo Gentiloni said that these are “most important impacts”, both in the country and in the rest of Europe.
“The question that comes up frequently these weeks is how long will it last [esta escalada de preços na energia no espaço europeu] and I would say there is a consensus that this increase will be moderate after the winter, “he pointed out.
According to Paolo Gentiloni, this assumption “is not only based on the meteorological assumption, but also, for example, on the analysis of the gas market at the present time, showing very clearly a decrease [dos preços] not next year”.
“So I think we can know that the possibility of an increase is high, but we also see that it couldn’t go away but could be moderated next year,” he said.
Soaring electricity prices – due to the rise in the gas market, higher demand and falling corrections – threatens to exacerbate energy poverty in Europe and make it harder to pay heating bills this fall and winter.
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