quarta-feira, 30 de setembro de 2015

Portugal: Legislation even in times of crisis

By Admin 08:00

Portugal will vote this Sunday, October 4. The polling stations open at 9:00 and closed at 7:00 pm, on the Mainland and Madeira, Azores open an hour later and close an hour later due to time difference (-1:00). The first polls are announced at 8:00 pm, continental time.

They are the first elections since the end of the buy-back programme of the ' Troika ' to Portugal in may 2014, which can result in a test for the governance of the PSD-PP Coalition but also the Socialist Party that, under the Government of José Sócrates, was ' thank you ' to ask for outside help.

The Parliament is the legislative organ of the Portuguese State. Unlike countries such as the USA and the United Kingdom the Portuguese Parliament consists of one Chamber only, composed of 230 deputies elected by plurinominais circles, for terms of 4 years. Unlike other countries members represent the country and its region.

The Portuguese residing in foreigners are grouped into two groups: Europe and rest of the world, each of which elects two members of the Assembly.

Economic Recovery

In the first and second quarters of 2015, the Portuguese GDP grew, seconds predictions in the National Institute of statistics (INE), 1.6% over the same period last year. Exports also have increased 6 percent between May and June.

https://www.bportugal.pt/pt-PT/EstudosEconomicos/Publicacoes/BoletimEconomico/Publicacoes/bol_econ_junho2015_p.pdf

A few days before the election the American rating agency Standard and poor's raised the rating from BB to BB + Portugal, with perspective of stability. The same classification was given by Moody's and Fitch, based on the assumption that these elections will result in a continuation of the policies that lead to compliance with the changes imposed by the ' troika '.

However, the opposition claims that the Government is concealing the numbers, pointing as an example the new Bank recapitalization (created after the collapse of the BES). The Portuguese deficit announced, in 2014, as 4.5%, giving as guaranteed the sale of the "new Bank", skyrocketed to 7.2%. The cancellation of the sale of the old BES led the INE to revise high deficit. In the first half of 2015, the deficit corresponded already to 4.7% of GDP. But the Government of Passos Coelho goes on to say that he will remain below the 3 percent limit this year.

Employment

According to the official statistical Office of the European Union, on the variation in jail, Portugal was the country with the biggest rise in employment rate between April and June, compared with the first quarter of this year. An increase of 1.3%.

With regard to unemployment, provisional data from the INE pointed to the loss of 34 thousand jobs between July and August. In the internet Web site of the INE may read that "the provisional estimate of the unemployment rate for August 2015 is located in 12.4%, 0.1 percentage points higher than the final estimate obtained for July 2015." This means a monthly retreat of 0.76%, the highest since January 2013 and that puts an end to the cycle of growth, which occurred since the beginning of the year. The Deputy Prime Minister, Paulo Portas, said, on a visit to a technological park in Limerick, this Tuesday, September 29, "is more a tenth, which, with some frequency, it happens in August." But, even if the data is the definitive and provisional are known in October, and analyzing the data between 1998 and 2015, unemployment went down more times between July and August than increased, with the newspaper ' the public explains.

As for the unemployment rate young she is 31%, that is, the fifth largest in the EU. Although, over the past year, has fallen (34.8%). Socialists and left-wing Block state that these figures do not take into account the impact of massive emigration, the fact that many jobs are low-paid internships, created recently by employment agencies. To add to this the fact that many people are doing training, through job centres, which are not considered as being unemployed.

Portugal has, since 2014 a program, push Young intended to help young people to participate in active life.

The economic crisis in Portugal, has also led some of the foreigners who were residing in the country to leave, as is explained in a report by the Organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD).

The Demographic Issue

During the hard times of the economic crisis, the Prime Minister and some Ministers came to point out the advantages, in a globalised world, living abroad. Now, they're creating programs to encourage young people to return.

The total number of people who left the country for the past 4/5 years, is controversial, because many people leave the country but did not inform local authorities. Still, there is a certain consensus that the number is between 400 000 and the half million inhabitants of just over 10 million Portuguese and foreigners residing in the country.

The Organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) says that more than 100,000 long-term emigrants left the country between 2012 and 2013. Portugal became, as well, in a country which exports workforce young qualified, which means that investment in education was lost and tax revenues are smaller because these people do not work in the country. It is estimated that over 40% of these people do not return, at least for the next 10 years.

According to one academic study, presented recently at the University of Porto, between 2010 and 2011 Portugal lost the equivalent of 8.8 billion euros.

A United Nations report says that in 2050 40% of the Portuguese population will be over 60 years of age. In 2014, there were 141 seniors for every 100 young people, according to the National Bureau of statistics, placing the country in fourth place among EU Nations with the largest aging population.

Sustainability of the national health service

According to the Prime Minister, the national health service (NHS) has never been so well capitalized as now. In 2015, the State budget provides that the NHS receive 7,874 million euros, slightly above the record in 2014, 7720 million (the lowest value since 2007).

With regard to the NHS deficit in 2010, during the Socialist Government, was around 800 million euros, fell to 272 million in 2014. According to the newspaper "the public" to 2015 "provides for a final hole of 30 million euros".

According to the OECD, the cuts made in this field â€" reduction of jobs, closure and consolidation of facilities-were twice as required by the ' troika '. In 2013, government spending on health care were 5.1% of the total budget compared to 10% in 2010. The European average is 7%.

The cuts in spending on the NHS were accompanied by an increase in household spending on health. According to the INE, by the end of 2014, the families had almost 28% of the total amount spent on health.

Sustainability of the pension system

Among the countries most affected by the crisis in the EU, Portugal had the largest increase in the risk of poverty and social exclusion rate in 2013, according to Caritas Europe.

The buy-back programme of 78 billion resulted in severe austerity measures. Between 2013 and 2014, pensions were reduced by 4.6%. To be added to this scenario, since 2014 that the retirement age in Portugal is 66 years of age, to take advantage of the full Board. In 2016 retirement age will pass for 66 years and 2 months. In 2019, expected to be in 67 years. A progressive change in view of the increased average life expectancy.

In 2012, the OECD stated that the measures adopted by Portugal in the five previous years did not guarantee the sustainability of the public pension system. And considered that there were three ways to reduce spending on pensions: indexation of benefits, raise the retirement age and more punishing rules for early retirement. What, roughly, just for checking if noa.

The austerity and the development of the standard of living of the Portuguese

Portugal was, in 2010, the 10th poorest country of the EU, the third of the Euro zone, with lower purchasing power. And, although the British State television channel BBC has elected Portugal as one of the best countries for the reform, the truth is, most likely, the majority of Portuguese disagree.

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