The president of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, pointed out that 2026 will be marked by “particularly demanding challenges,” especially “in the financial area and in the execution of public funds.”

Speaking at the traditional New Year’s reception at the Palácio da Conceição in Ponta Delgada, Bolieiro warned of the need to “strengthen the responsiveness of institutions and the effectiveness of procedures,” stressing that the Region “will have to act rigorously and efficiently to maximize results in a highly demanding context.”

One of the central points of the speech concerned the final stage of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which the governor described as “very important, demanding, and significant.”

Bolieiro recalled that “the full implementation of this instrument will depend on the fulfillment of previously defined milestones and targets.”

The leader of the Azorean executive stressed that the PRR has allowed for structural investments to be made in the Region, reinforcing the importance of “ensuring full use of the available financial envelope, within the planned schedule.”

In addition to the PRR, he also highlighted the new dynamics of the multiannual European financing framework, within the scope of Agenda 2030, explaining that the execution of funds now “involves stricter criteria and annual execution obligations, under penalty of unused funds not being carried over to subsequent years.”

In this context, he stressed that the challenge for public institutions and private beneficiaries will be to “meet deadlines and targets with greater speed, precision, and operational capacity, so as not to miss investment and development opportunities.”

“Execution requires that a certain financial amount be executed and that, if it cannot be executed, it does not carry over to the following year,” he stressed, reinforcing that “this scenario requires a collective effort of administrative modernization and improvement in the capacity to implement public policies.”

Bolieiro also pointed out that “2026 will also be a year of institutional affirmation and democratic identity, with symbolic moments that recall the Azores’ position in the progress and development of the territory, its people, and its autonomous institutions,” but reiterated that “these celebrations must go hand in hand with political action focused on responding to the concrete challenges facing the Region, especially in terms of finance and public investment.”

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.