Press conference by President of the Government and Prime Minister of Portugal at Portugal-Spain Summit

Guarda (Portugal)

President of the Government: Good afternoon.

My thanks to the media for attending this press conference. My thanks also to the ministers of the Portuguese Government and of course also to the Vice-Presidents of the Government and to the ministers, the State secretaries and others in the Spanish delegation. My thanks also to the Prime Minister for his hospitality here in Guarda. And my thanks also to the mayor for having allowed us to use the city council installations to hold this important Summit.

A Summit we described in the bilateral meeting, in the plenary session we held, as a pro-European Summit. I believe that now more than ever if this Summit has an approach, it is a pro-European approach for a number of reasons.

Firstly, because Europe must provide a common response to a common problem, which is the pandemic. We are doing this at the level of the health emergency, for example, negotiating with the pharmaceutical companies as to the arrival of this vaccine that we hope science can provide us with as soon as possible.

And also from an economic and social point of view through this great agreement we reached in July on the Recovery Fund. I mentioned to Prime Minister Costa that Spain has paid close attention to Portugal's Recovery Plan, from the perspective both of governance and of goals. And I want to underline how completely aligned the Recovery Plan that the Government of Spain presented this week is with the goals set out by the Government of Portugal - the ecological and digital transitions, social and territorial cohesion and the gender perspective of this pandemic, which is obviously affecting half of the population - women - much more.

Secondly, I believe the step we have taken is very important, which was a mandate established for us at the Valladolid Summit in 2018, which was to develop a cross-border development strategy, as was also mentioned at the plenary session by the different drafters and proponents. This is a political strategy with a very clear aim, which is equal opportunities, not just for people but also for regions. And in this regard it is not a Strategy that is abstract or merely well intentioned, but which proposes a system of common governance through specific measures. And I feel that this is very important for regions that are contained in la Raya, whether on the Portuguese or Spanish side.

And finally, we have proposed, in addition to the great many areas of cooperation from an agri-food perspective, from a territorial perspective, and also from the perspective of cultural collaboration and cooperation, for example, strengthening this common heritage that exists in our two languages.

Lastly, one of the most important aspects which, in my opinion, we will work on in the coming weeks and months, is the Portuguese Rotating Presidency of the European Union which will start next year. For the Government of Spain, at a time that is so important for Europe and for the whole world, the fact the Portugal will head up this first half of next year is a source of tranquillity, of confidence, because, in the end, there are some very important issues that we need to address, which affect the daily lives of millions of citizens in both Portugal and in Spain. The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the implementation of these European Recovery Plans, also the Immigration and Asylum Pact, which clearly affect two countries such as ours, relations with Ibero-America in the backdrop, as we have set out in the conclusions of these frameworks of cooperation, of trade that we need to establish with Latin America, and also with Africa, and this strategy that we must define in Europe, and in the Mediterranean, that is, with the Southern Neighbourhood.

In short, there are a great many issues that, if they represent anything, it is the Friendship Treaty, which is what launched these bilateral summits. This Friendship Treaty was signed between our two countries in 1977, related to our geographic proximity, and also to interdependence on a great many areas from a social and environmental point of view, to quote just a couple. And our shared vision of how the Europe of today and of tomorrow should be.

So, thank you, dear Antonio, and our colleagues in the Portuguese Government, for your proximity and the ease with which we can work together, the alignment of many of the goals we have and that our public authorities and our countries share, and our interest in meeting again soon. In this case, it will fall to Spain to organise the next bilateral summit in 2021, which if it exemplifies anything, it is what we have seen here today - the strength of our relations and, above all, the confidence that they will grow even stronger in the future.

Mr. Costa: Thank you very much Pedro. I wanted to welcome the President of the Government of Spain, the Vice-Presidents and ministers of the Government of Spain, and state that it is only possible to hold this Portugal-Spain Summit at such a difficult time as the present that we are going through due to the COVID-19 pandemic because the intensity of our relations makes it absolutely essential.

We are not just two neighbouring countries, we are countries that share issues through the European Union and through the Community of Ibero-American States; we are also NATO allies and we have two languages with a broad international representation around the world. That is why, even in this situation we are going through, we cannot cease holding our annual events to step up our relations.

This year we are meeting here, in Guarda, founded by the Second King of Portugal, Sancho I, known as "The Populator", and there could be no better nickname for a Summit that is focused on the issue of cross-border cooperation and the development of these cross-border regions, which on both sides of the border are precisely the least populated in our two countries.

But Sancho I is also a good example of how familiarity marks the closeness of our relations; he was married to the Princess of Aragon, and of their many daughters, one become Queen of Castile and another of Leon, which means that from the outset our neighbourly relations are not only marked by mere friendship but also by very close family ties.

The Cross-border Development Strategy is a strategy to be jointly developed over the coming years and has several dimensions:

The first and most important one is related to facilitating the lives of people; those people who live on their respective sides of the border. Through a cross-border statute, through the creation of a health card that allows treatment on either side of the border using the public services in one country and in the other.

The second fundamental dimension is cooperation between our public services, for me, perhaps, the clearest case is the agreement on the 112 Network, which allows the closest team to respond to an emergency. Whether this may be a Portuguese ambulance in Spain or a Spanish one in Portugal, the nearest one will attend to the emergency. And another dimension is the development of joint and ambitious projects, according to the needs of the country, whereby we can become one great digital player. Spain will shortly complete a new cable to connect with the continent of Africa; in June, Portugal will complete the new connection cable with Latin America - an extraordinary development tin infrastructures to become a fundamental hub in these new digital industries, of big data, of the blockchain of artificial intelligence.

But we must also talk about energy; the challenge of the digital transition totally transforms our relations regarding interconnections. We can be leaders in the energy transition and develop the best environmental mix of renewable energies throughout Europe if we work together. And moreover, since we are countries that have important reserves of a fundamental mineral in the manufacture of electric batteries, which is lithium, we should aspire to not only extract these resources, but, in contrast, work together to develop an industrial capacity so that products with greater added value that are manufactured from these natural resources are done in industries on the Iberian Peninsula, and specifically in this cross-border region so that we can develop them to our mutual benefit.

We decided to develop this Strategy some years ago, in Valladolid, where we gave a decisive boost by designing the technical teams, and I would here and now like to thank the Spanish and Portuguese technicians who worked hard so that we can be here today approving it in time so that it can be incorporated in the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework. This time we will not go separately to Brussels to defend our proposals, we will go together to present a vision, a strategy, concrete projects that we want to develop together, because we don't want this border region to separate us but to act as a meeting point between our two countries.

And obviously the new Recovery and Resilience Plans can and must incorporate these priorities, which is why the programme we are going to develop identifies five cross-border issues that are totally strategic for unlocking this inland region through a new union with Spain, to create a central Iberian market in the whole border zone. The connection from Castelo Branco to Cedillo, from Braganza to la Puebla de Sanabria, from Nisa to Cedillo, from Alcoutim and San Lucar del Guadiana; and the development of the proximity between various communities on both sides of the border is essential for our common future.

I want to congratulate President of the Government Sánchez on the launch of his Recovery and Resilience Programme that he presented this week and which advocates the same priorities as ours: to strengthen resilience from the point of view of our strategic autonomy; to strengthen and speed up the climate transition; to strengthen and speed up the digital transition. In all these areas, I feel that we are in an excellent position to come out of this stronger and with better tools to help develop this cross-border region, which means strengthening the resilience of the Iberian Peninsula, and with a stronger Iberian Peninsula we can work within the framework of the European Union, within the framework of the neighbourhood policy with other southern countries, with the other countries in the Mediterranean Basin, from the north to the south, and also with the whole Ibero-American Community, almost a whole continent that is divided between those who speak my Portuguese and those who speak Pedro's Spanish.

Thank you all very much for the work you have undertaken, and I am sure that at the next Summit in Spain in a year's time we will take more steps to continue down our path.

Thank you very much, Pedro

Q: Good afternoon, Ana Fernández Vila from Europa Press. I wanted to ask the President of the Government, firstly, about Madrid. I would like to know why the state of emergency was not declared if the government considered that the President of the Regional Government of Madrid was not doing anything and, Minister Illa confirmed yesterday, and if you plan to impose tougher restrictions. And furthermore, I would like to ask the two of you if you have reached any agreement to move forwards with the matter of high-speed rail connections. If the AVE from Madrid to Lisbon and from Vigo to Porto will become a reality anytime and if you have deadlines for this. Thank you.

Mr Costa: OK, as regards Madrid I am not going to answer because it is a little way from the border. As regards high-speed rail, I am sure that one day Portugal will not be separated from the Iberian high-speed rail network, and that this will be done in "all good time". We must take into account that this is not a question of connection point-by-point but a connection from one country to another, and that we must find a connection that can join the whole of Portugal, and positively contribute to strengthening our territorial cohesion. This will be a path that we will continue to undertake. For now, we are going to complete the works that are under way to increase rail connections, which are the works on the southern corridor between Sines and Caya. And also here on the lines between Upper and Lower Baixa. We will then have the chance to continue working, I am sure, on developing whatever needs developing.

President of the Government: Well, thank you for your questions. As regards infrastructures - I will then mention Madrid - I would like to add to what Prime Minister Costa said. I feel that the declaration and the conclusions establish a quite clear roadmap on cooperation on infrastructures. Prime Minister Costa and I also spoke about this previously. Some of the future pillars will need further thought and design. For example, what the Mediterranean Corridor represents, we need to do to the Atlantic Corridor, to see if we can also find new connections there between our two countries.

Secondly, Spain has been making a very significant and decisive effort in terms of high-speed travel for a great many years. We will very shortly complete the arrival of the AVE to the north of Spain, to Galicia. This will also logically have an impact on our neighbours in Portugal. And we also have quite a clear commitment to Extremadura. A dignified rail transport system has been a traditional claim we have received from the people of Extremadura. The Government of Spain wants to meet this commitment, which is more social than political or electoral. This is a justified demand, and hence we will work on these scenarios and see how we can offer continuity of these to our friends in Portugal

As regards Madrid, let's see. I feel that yesterday the Minister for Health was very clear and explicit in his press briefing following the Council of Ministers at which, as you know, we approved a regional state of emergency in the Region of Madrid, specifically in a series of municipalities.

I agree with what the Minister for Health has always maintained, as does the whole of the government. We have always placed public health and saving lives above any other consideration. We have thought, and furthermore, we have asked all governors to do what is right, to think about the sick, to think about the healthcare workers who are once again tackling COVID-19 in the hospitals, and at primary health centres. We should also think about the families of the victims and the victims, and so, let's be aware that we must provide a clear and resounding response to the spread of the pandemic in certain regions.

It is clear, crystal clear, because the figure are out there, that the accumulated rate in the Region of Madrid, and particularly in some municipalities, is very high, and this is a worrying spread. We can also see the rate of positive PCR tests in the Region of Madrid. And we can see the level of beds occupied in hospitals in the Region of Madrid and the level of beds occupied in ICUs. So, it is clear that we must provide a decisive response to the situation of the pandemic in Madrid. And that is what the government has done. In fact, what we are doing is simply providing a legal response, and continuing with the measures that have been implemented from one week to the next.

Hence, we hope that over the next 15 days that the state of emergency will last, we can contain the pandemic in Madrid, and flatten the curve, and consequently we continue to offer our help to the Regional Government of Madrid to work together. But we had to provide a response to this situation, because we couldn't stand by with our arms folded. And that is what the Government of Spain did yesterday by approving this state of emergency.

Q: Fátima Marques Faria, from RTP. This Summit comes at the end of a particularly difficult week for both countries as regards the spread of the number of cases of COVID-19, precisely on the day when Portugal has recorded its highest numbers, at more than 1,500. I would like to ask both Heads of Government whether the option exists of a return to the closure of borders or health control on some points of the border. And specifically for the Portuguese Prime Minister, could Portugal shortly, similarly to what has happened in Madrid, introduce some measures? And specifically, could we return to a state of emergency? Thank you very much.

President of the Government: Thank you very much for your question. Let's see, I feel that Europe as well, at the last European Council, where Prime Minister Costa and I had the chance to share this with the rest of the European Heads of State and Government. The spread of the pandemic is concerning throughout the European continent. We are seeing a rise in the spread in each and every European country, whether France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom as well, and the Netherlands, just to quote a few examples beyond the Iberian Peninsula.

Secondly, what we want to provide is a common response. I feel it is also important during these months of the pandemic to be aware of those things we have done well, and also of those things in which we must be much clearer with our citizens. For example, in regard to quarantines, whether they should be 14 or seven days. We must give a homogenous response throughout the territory and hence we are not considering border closures at all, as I think I understood from the question from the Portuguese journalist. We absolutely don't intend to do this. What's more, any decision we take will be done from a clearly homogenous and shared perspective together with the Portuguese Government and the other European governments.

Mr Costa: As President of the GovernmentSánchez said, Europe is facing a new very harsh second wave with a higher number of new cases than in the first wave, although we are fortunately much better prepared; firstly, individually, through the use of face coverings, with the habit of washing our hands frequently, by maintaining social distancing, and I would once again call on everyone to download the COVID-19 tracing application, which is key for quickly detecting situations of proximity with accidental risk contacts. The app is anonymous; no-one knows who was the risk contact or who is infected, but it is key to have information from schools, work, a shop, etc… to know who spends more than 15 minutes at a distance of less than two metres from the person infected. Its use is fundamental for controlling the spread.

I believe we are all aware that society, families, companies, cannot again bear the cost of a total shutdown as at the start of the pandemic, the cost in terms of jobs is brutal, we have thousands more people unemployed since the start of this pandemic, thousands of families that have lost their incomes, at a tremendous social cost, which is why we must manage to control the pandemic with new weapons rather than shutting everything down again. These new weapons must be individual responsibility from everyone; we must be very responsible in sticking to the rules. The costs are not only economic, but also social, the cost of having the freedom of movement restricted, or having to self-isolate, of not having contact with the family, which is hard to measure but real; we all know the cost in terms of learning, of having to close our schools, and these are too costly to impose again; which is why we appeal for greater individual responsibility and less legal imposition in complying with the rules.

As regards the borders, Portugal and Spain have been exemplary over recent months, unlike with what has happened in other countries no unilateral measures were imposed; neither Portugal closed its borders without counting on Spain, or vice versa; we always work together. I feel that closing the borders is not justified, we are in a totally different situation to in April, not in the number of cases, but in the knowledge we have of the virus and in the capacity of the health system to combat it, and also in the gravity of the cases. The population affected now is younger and the infections are less serious, allowing the national health services to have the capacity to treat the sick, which thus does not justify these measures.

Q: Good afternoon. For Prime Minister Costa, I wanted to ask a question agreed by the delegation of Spanish journalists. Both Spain and Portugal trust that their economic recovery will come from the European funds. Do you fear European negotiations could impose some form of impediment given the resistance we have seen from the so-called frugal countries? This is from how they see the management of the pandemic in Spain and the possibility that the Portuguese economy could suffer in some way as well.

And for President of the Government Sánchez. Yesterday, the World Health Organization said in relation to Spain that when governments delay, people die. Do you see having to declare the state of emergency without an agreement with the Madrid authorities as a failure? How do you expect to now redirect a little the situation with Regional President Ayuso? How do you see the situation in a fortnight? Because you will have to ask the Lower House for authorisation if you decide to extend the state of emergency. Thank you.

Mr Costa: Right, as regards the European funds, these are critical for the response capacity of the different countries to tackle the economic and social crisis. We are not only going through a health crisis, but also an economic and social crisis, and something historic is that back in July, Europe managed to take a step forward with a dimension that is incredible, which was to issue joint debt for the next few years to finance a robust response programme in answer to the crisis. Each day we waste is another day that we lose protection for our citizens, job protection, and protection for people that must continue on the front line.

We must also improve public health. We must improve the economic and social health of our societies. So, the hope I have is that very soon the European Parliament and Council will reach an agreement that allows the European funds to become available on 1 January 2021. This would be the best way to start the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union.

I am clearly not going to comment on how Spain is managing the pandemic, or Great Britain or the United States. We are all trying to do our best, and if we look at the figures in the different countries at the different times, there are countries that had excellent results at the beginning but that are having very poor results at this time. This is not the time to make judgements, it is the time to support, to help, to show solidarity and always try and do our best. Because we are fighting a new unknown enemy, which even science is unfamiliar with. It is getting to know it better each day, because we are bearing witness to a research process in real time, and having to take decisions in real time without knowing all the variables.

So, what we must all do is try and learn a little from each other, and help each other. No-one should think there are magical solutions because there are none.

Pedro and I have heard our colleagues at another Council meeting regarding one of the countries that before the summer was one of those that suddenly withdrew all the restrictions and which was one of the champions "of the day", but which is now saying that everything has changed. And it now has the worst results of anywhere in the European Union. So, what we must be aware of is that the risk exists and we must work to ensure that tomorrow is better than today, albeit in the awareness that it may be worse.

President of the Government: I feel that, as Prime Minister Costa rightly said, humility is fundamental for tackling this pandemic, because there is indeed no clear roadmap. Science is still discovering how to placate the virus, and hence, I believe that all public authorities must act with maximum humility.

Secondly, with maximum unity. I share the thought that was not only made by the WHO yesterday, but which it has been making for some time now. Now is not the first time. We have heard the Director of the WHO say on a number of occasions that political parties or politicians taking advantage of the pandemic only causes division in societies and makes them weaker in their response to the virus.

That is why the Government of Spain, from the outset, has said that we must be united; we must banish party squabbling from the pandemic because there is indeed a common enemy, which is the virus. This is an epidemiological battle, not an ideological battle. This is the essence of the challenge we are facing. That is why I said that we should banish the party struggle from the pandemic.

That is why I called for unity, not just regarding the Budget, which is key for our country for next year, but also unity as the Government of Spain is practising. We have now reached six agreements with the social stakeholders on fundamental issues, such as the extension of the Temporary Lay-off Plans (Spanish acronym: ERTEs), which are covering more than 750,000 workers, and independent contractors. The Official Credit Institute (Spanish acronym: ICO) lines have guaranteed the financial survival of more than half a million companies in our country, with an unprecedented effort on the part of the public administration. In short, from all of our citizens through their taxes.

Hence, I believe that unity, banishing the party struggle from the pandemic, must be the tonic, the direction to guide the political action of all parties and politicians. We have clearly shown this with the social stakeholders, with the regional governments, with the Conference of Regional Presidents, with the European Union, with this agreement that Prime Minister Costa mentioned, which I would like to reach Parliament.

As regards the Region of Madrid, I would again stress that all tiers of government should put themselves in the shoes of the health professionals, of those who are sick, of the victims of COVID-19 and their families, and be aware that we must put public health first, and the defence of lives, over and above any other consideration. And the dilemma was quite clear in this regard for the Government of Spain.

Following the ruling handed down by the High Court of Justice of Madrid, we could take two approaches. Either do nothing or apply the state of emergency precisely to impose this boundary lockdown with the same restrictions in the city of Madrid and other municipalities in the Region of Madrid, but with a different legal instrument. And we hope that, furthermore, after these seven days plus the 15 days, that we will be in a situation in which the pandemic in the Region of Madrid can indeed be controlled, not yet with the curve flattened, but with the pandemic contained.

And precisely yesterday, the Minister for Health said, because there have indeed been other rulings handed down by other high courts of justice in other regions, invoking the 1986 Act, the Health Act - which the Regional Government of Madrid surprisingly did not do on this latter issue before the High Court of Justice of Madrid, but which it did in six previous rulings - which means that precisely by invoking this 1986 Act you can act with legal protection which I feel is sound to these boundary lockdowns such as we are proposing for Madrid.

Hence, what I want to say by this is that there are sufficient legal instruments available. They are precisely being backed by the high courts of justice in different regions. Yesterday we saw, for example, a case in Castile and Leon. And in other regions: in Andalusia we also saw a similar ruling in this regard.

In short, what I want to say is that we must banish the party struggle in tackling the common enemy of the virus, and in a battle that we must undertake from a scientific and technical perspective, rather than an ideological one. Because this is an epidemiological battle, and not an ideological one.

Aside from that, of course, I also said to the President of the Regional Government of Madrid in the different phone calls we held in these last two days that we are always open and willing to talk with the Regional Government of Madrid, to negotiate and discuss measures that could be implemented in the coming weeks. And I stress what I said at Puerta del Sol to the President of the Regional Government of Madrid and I reiterate every time I am asked about this question, that we didn't go there to impose, to supervise or to judge, we went there to help, collaborate and cooperate. But when solutions were not taken that were considered right from a technical and scientific perspective to flatten the curve, in this case in a certain region of our country, the Government of Spain cannot turn away and look elsewhere. We have not done this at any time in this pandemic and will not do so as long as it lasts. The Spanish people can rest assured of that, wherever they may live. We will always put ourselves in the shoes of those who are suffering from the pandemic - the healthcare professionals, the sick, the victims and their families.

Q: Prime Minister Antonio Costa, I wanted to know what is the situation for the approval of the Budget for 2021. Today we have heard statements from the Left-Wing Block Coordinator, Catarina Martins, who said that they were at an impasse, and I wanted to know how negotiations are going with another party, this will be easier, with the Portuguese Communist Party. And for President of the Government Sánchez, I am curious to know whether there is any particular interest in Portugal and Spain holding a common position on the 5G networks coming out of China, taking into account the position of the United States and the pressure Europe is under from the US. Thank you

President of the Government: Well, as this is the last of the questions, I would like to thank the media again for their presence and also obviously thank Prime Minister Costa and the Portuguese authorities for their hospitality.

As regards this question, I would like to say that Spain is proud of the fact that we are the country with the largest extension of fibre optic in our country. To give you an idea, the extension of fibre optic in our country is the same as the total of such important countries as Germany, France and the United Kingdom, I seem to remember, Hence, we are talking about having made a systematic commitment for a long time to the rollout of fibre optic. We are one of the countries that have most implemented pilot projects for the rollout of 5G since very early on.

In fact, some important telecommunications operators in our country have announced some major multi-million investments to extend 5G throughout the country. Indeed, one of the main technology corporations in our country - Telefónica - has guaranteed that before the end of the year, 75% of the whole of Spain will have access to 5G technology.

And we are also doing this will some other foreign companies as well, not just with Huawei - which is the Chinese company you referred to - but also with Nokia and other European and US companies.

Hence, we will remain committed to this technology and also to the diversification, let's say, of these alliances with other operators, not just from our continent, but also from China. And in this regard, what I feel is that we should strengthen something that Prime Minister Costa mentioned before and which I agree on. I feel that the Iberian Peninsula can become a great data interconnection hub. In the conclusions of this Summit, we have precisely spoken about these 5G gateways that we can build throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

And I believe that this means creating the future. And not only the future for large corporations, but also for smaller companies in regions such as Guarda and others that are on the other side of the border, in the province of Salamanca and in other areas of la Raya. Because in the end, when we speak about interconnections, we are talking about equal opportunities, not just from a social point of view, but also from a territorial one.

I feel that one of the main things we have got right in the strategy we introduce today is precisely that we are talking about the need for 5G, and other technologies, to reach each and every point in our countries.

Mr Costa: As regards the Budget negotiations that we will present to the Assembly of the Republic on Monday, I believe that the essential conditions have been created for an agreement to be reached.

First, this crisis cannot justify cuts being made to progress already made since November 2015. This Budget must not halt achievements made since that date.

Second, this is a Budget that contains advances, it is not austere and seeks to increase family income, support job creation and commit to public investment to boost the economy. As regards income, we sent out a clear signal that, despite the crisis, we maintain our commitments and, for example, the minimum wage will rise to 750 € by the end of this term of office. Despite the crisis, we will raise the minimum wage.

As regards the lowest pensions, as we have done in recent years, we will once again implement an extraordinary rise in these pensions, which is particularly important this year, because since inflation and economic growth stand at zero, if the social security formulas are applied, pensions should not have had to rise.

The situation is very complicated for people who live in precarious situations, in the informal economy, and if the measures we have employed cannot provide them with dignified minimum incomes, then we will set up extraordinary social protection for periods of crisis that guarantee that no-one is left with income below the poverty line; we will also change the unemployment calculation so that it becomes contributory and does not fall below the poverty line.

And lastly, we will reduce withholdings on salaries to ensure that all salaried workers have higher incomes in 2021, because these withholdings will be lower.

Hence, progress has been made, pensions will rise, as will wages for salaried workers, and for those in vulnerable situations and who require social benefits; in short, this is a progressive Budget, which is why I believe there will be an agreement with the Left-Wing Bloc and with the Communist Party; aside from that, there are obviously matters we do not agree on, matters we are working on and written proposals have been presented to the document sent on Friday. We are preparing the response to the Communist Party and tonight the written response arrived from the Left-Wing Bloc and we are working on a written response to that.

In principle, there is no reason not to reach an agreement; we are negotiating this, and if there is a political will, I believe we will have a Budget for 2021, which is key, because in the crisis situation we are in, whereby we will receive significant extraordinary resources from the EU for the Recovery and Resilience Plan, it would be incomprehensible not to use our own budgetary resources. We must have a sound Budget, which gives strength to the economy, to job creation, to families; we need a Budget for 2021 and I am sure that the left-wing will contribute to this Budget; there is simply no other way.

Thank you all very much, and I would like to thank the City Council of Guarda for its hospitality. Thank you.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation