Costa announces that Portugal will ask for the Setúbal Peninsula to become a NUT II | Lisbon Metropolitan Area
The prime minister announced this Friday that Portugal will ask the European Union to make the Setúbal Peninsula a NUT II so that it does not continue to be “heavily penalized” in support of companies and registered funds.
“We are well aware that the Setúbal Peninsula, being a NUT III, is heavily penalized for being part of a NUT II [Área Metropolitana de Lisboa], which puts it back in an unfavorable position, namely in terms of support for large companies or in the attractiveness of competent funds ”, said António Costa at the ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of Volkswagen Autoeuropa, in Palmela.
Therefore, the prime minister took advantage of this moment to make an announcement, since in February “a window of opportunity opens for Portugal to request the European Union and Eurostat to reconfigure its statistical units and its previous units”.
“Next February, precisely to overcome this situation, Portugal will request that the Setúbal peninsula stop being a NUT III and become a NUT II so that in the future it does not suffer a penalty in terms of its attractiveness and in terms of its mobilization. mechanisms of state support to large companies or for the attractiveness of funds of funds”, he referred.
The hierarchical system of dividing the Portuguese territory into regions forecasts three NUT I (Mainland, Autonomous Region of Madeira and Autonomous Region of the Azores), seven NUT II (North, Centre, Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, Alentejo, Algarve, Madeira and Azores) and the subdivision of these into 25 NUT III, according to population, administrative and geographic criteria.
The possible creation of a smaller territorial unit, or NUT III, on the Setúbal Peninsula has been specific to several mayors, who believe that this change would facilitate this region’s access to the relevant funds.
Currently, the Setúbal Peninsula, located in nine municipalities (Alcochete, Almada, Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, Palmela, Seixal, Sesimbra and Setúbal) is part of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (NUT II and III).
On June 4th, the minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, announced that the Government would move towards the creation of a NUT III in the Setúbal Peninsula and admitted that it will create a NUT II in the future, stressing that the co-participation of a NUT III is always defined by the NUT II to which it belongs.
In this sense, he emphasized that only being a NUT II will the Setúbal Peninsula not be “conditioned to the support sharing rate”.