Marques Mendes says that it is “unacceptable” that the State does not approve loans in the autonomous communities

The SIC commentator, Luís Marques Mendes, criticized today the decision of the Government of the Republic not to give the guarantee to the autonomous communities to contract the loans to respond to the health crisis.

“The autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores are Portugal. I would like the Government to [da República] It would have been more supportive of Madeira and the Azores, which they borrowed, authorized by the Assembly of the Republic, to face the high expenses of the pandemic, “said the commentator this afternoon.

These regions “needed the approval of the State and the State did not give the guarantee, neither before nor during the budget, and I believe that this lack of solidarity is unacceptable, it should not have happened,” he added.

It is recalled that, according to the accounts of the Madeira County Council, the refusal of the State to grant the loan of 458 million euros will mean an increase in interest costs of six million euros per year for the Region.

The calculation is based on the best proposals that Madeira received from the bank for the loan that provides an interest rate of 0.3%, in the scenario of having the State guarantee, and 1.3%, without the guarantee of the Republic.