A specialized commission will be created to monitor the privatization process of the majority stake in Azores Airlines, and some rules may change.

The Autonomous Region of the Azores budget, worth 2,045.5 million euros, was published yesterday in the Diário da República and comes into force today.
The final version of the budget was approved on May 24 and only arrived at the office of the Representative of the Republic 17 days later due to the large number of amendments made to the budget during the debate and vote in the Regional Legislative Assembly.
The office of the Representative of the Republic confirmed that it received the Region’s Budget for 2024 by post on June 17 and, after appraisal, sent it for publication at the end of last week, being published yesterday in the Diário da República, falling short of the deadlines it had.

The budget foresees 9,400 thousand euros in fees, fines, and other penalties.

The Region’s budget revenues correspond to 398.8 million euros in transfers from the State Budget and 387 million euros from the European Union.
Current tax revenue amounts to 293.5 million euros, and indirect tax revenue to 564.1 million euros.
Indirect taxes include the Petroleum Products Tax (851 million euros), VAT (401 million euros), IST (57 million euros) fees, fines and other penalties (9,400 thousand euros).
The foreseeable income from property is 4,170 thousand euros, and rents are 80,950 euros.
In the 2024 Budget, the Government of the Azores maintains zero indebtedness. The document states, “The Regional Government, including the services and funds endowed with administrative and financial autonomy, must meet the financing needs arising from the implementation of the Budget of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, without resorting to an increase in net indebtedness.”
According to the Budget, and as established, the Regional Government “is authorized to convert commercial debt into financial debt, under the terms defined in the State Budget Law.
The Regional Government is authorized 2024 to grant guarantees, including letters of comfort, by the Region up to a maximum limit, in terms of annual net flows, of 80 million euros.

A special commission was created for the sale of Azores Airlines

Under the 2024 budget, the Azorean government is authorized to dispose of shareholdings that the Autonomous Region holds in subsidiaries, “except those that refer to sectors considered strategic for the Autonomous Region of the Azores and of prime necessity for the population.”
The only exception is SATA Internacional – Azores Airlines, S. A., in which the majority of the indirect shareholding held by the Autonomous Region of the Azores may be sold.
In this regard, the 2024 Budget calls for the creation of a special committee to monitor the respective process, which “will be extinguished upon its completion, whose purpose, powers and procedure for appointing its members are set out in Article 20 of Law 11/90 of April 5, which approves the Framework Law on Privatizations, in its current wording.”

73 million euros to recapitalize Azorean companies

The document makes it clear that regional public managers “may not receive remuneration higher than that established for the position of President of the Regional Government”, but makes an exception for “regional public managers of public companies operating in open and competitive markets.”
According to the 2024 Budget, the IRC rate is 8.78% for companies that “directly and principally carry out an economic activity of an agricultural, commercial, industrial or service-providing nature, and which are classified as micro, small or medium-sized enterprises…”
The budget creates a regional fund for business capitalization of 73 million euros.
The document allocates 145.3 million euros to the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital.
Regarding health, the 2024 budget emphasizes career development for doctors and nurses. And workers with uncertain fixed-term employment contracts signed by the health services and establishments of the Regional Health Service within the scope of the COVID-19 disease pandemic in the period between the entry into force of Regional Government Council Resolution no. 60/2020, of March 13, and the entry into force of Regional Government Council Resolution no. 61-A/2023, of March 14. º 61-A/2023, of April 14, who, on the date of publication of this diploma, perform functions corresponding to the permanent needs of these services and establishments, subject to hierarchical power, discipline or direction and full-time hours, “are integrated into the regional island staff or the staff of the EPER hospitals, based on the careers in which they find themselves, after approving the selection process, respecting the required legal qualifications.”

Free textbooks

The 2024 Budget states that “textbooks will be free of charge to students in all years of the 1st cycle of basic education in the regional public education system, with no obligation to return them in other years, given the specific nature of these textbooks.”
Under the School Textbook Loan Scheme, “pupils in the third cycle may keep in their possession the textbooks of the subjects subject to the final cycle exam, and pupils in secondary education may keep in their possession the textbooks of the subjects for which they intend to take a national exam, until the end of the year in which those final exams or national exams are held.”
Households up to the 16th bracket (…) are exempt from paying family contributions for attending crèches. This measure of exemption from family allowances also applies, with the necessary adaptations, to households covered up to and including the 16th step of the table of family allowances for childcare.
The supplementary regional salary will be updated by 5% effective January 1, 2024.
The amount of the Azorean supplement to the family allowance for children and young people will be updated by 10%, effective January 1, 2024.
This year, the Regional Government guarantees increases of 20%, 10%, and 5% for beneficiaries of the regional pension supplement, depending on their needs.

Green diesel for companies

The 2024 budget defines that companies engaged in maritime tourism and operating from ports that do not have road diesel stations can “use colored and marked diesel from the diesel supply network for agriculture and fishing.”
The maximum retail price for colored and marked diesel for use in maritime tourism is set by the Regional Government’s president and the members responsible for energy, tourism, transport, and fisheries.

Increased daily allowances for displaced patients

In the first half of 2024, the Regional Government, by means of an order issued by the member of the Regional Government with responsibility for health matters, shall increase by 15% the value of the daily allowances granted to displaced Regional Health Service patients and their companions and review the respective regulations to simplify the procedures for granting them.

in Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director