Marcelo Warns: "PRR is Skidding" Due to Bureaucracy, Urges Digitalization and State Reform

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal, has raised concerns over the slow progress of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), attributing the delays to excessive bureaucracy. Speaking in Lagos during the June 10 commemorations, Marcelo emphasized the urgent need for state reform, particularly in digitalization and reducing bureaucratic hurdles.

"The PRR is skidding in many cases, taking too long, because the bureaucracy is so overwhelming that instead of spending 200 million euros per week on the ground, we're at 100, 60, 80, 70. Over the years, this means a lot remains unspent," Marcelo stated.

He highlighted the necessity to digitally coordinate and combine the handling of Public Administration data and to revise laws to expedite processes, removing details that hinder Public Administration's functioning.

When questioned about the state reform emphasized by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, Marcelo remarked, "Talking about state reform is easy; doing it is very hard."

"One fundamental aspect is digitalization," he insisted. "Some ministries have dozens, if not hundreds, of different digitalization systems, with different contracts."

Marcelo pointed out the inefficiency of having each Directorate-General, Inspectorate-General, or service direction with its own digitalization contract, stressing the need for cost economy and coordination.

"That's why an expert from Google was brought in to handle this," he added, referring to Bernardo Correia, the Secretary of State for Digital Transition in the Ministry of State Reform, formerly the general director of Google Portugal.

Regarding the new Minister of State Reform, Gonçalo Matias, Marcelo said he "has to coordinate both aspects."

The President also mentioned the need to reform laws concerning the State and its functioning, suggesting the government might present a new law on administrative contracts to Parliament.