Azorean municipalities argue that they need to know in advance what European funding they can count on to define priorities and prepare projects. This position was expressed by Élia Ascensão, Jorge Carvalho and Olavo Câmara during a debate held in Santa Cruz, where they discussed the issue of Community funding for the Azores.
The three mayors were questioned by Ricardo Miguel Oliveira, editorial director-general of EDN and director of DIÁRIO, about the weight of European funds in municipal budgets.
The mayors pointed to lack of scale, technical resources and predictability as the main obstacles to the efficient use of European funds. These difficulties limit the capacity of municipalities to plan and execute projects funded by the European Union.
The debate highlighted the need for greater clarity and security on the part of Azorean municipalities regarding the amounts of European funding available, in order to allow better strategic planning of the municipalities.
