Portuguese company Sonae's chief executive Cláudia Azevedo believes that the Portuguese Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) is a "list of expenses" and "not an ambition for the country," according to a media report.
In April of this year, Portugal submitted a pandemic recovery plan to the European Commission and was the first among European nations to do so.
Upon receiving the plan, president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated, "The submission marks the beginning of a new phase in the process of implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
"The Commission looks forward to assessing the Portuguese plan, which focuses on resilience, climate, and digital transitions and includes projects in almost all of the European flagship areas."
The RRP includes measures in social housing, energy-efficiency in buildings and digital schooling, and projects in the plan cover the entire lifetime of the RRF until 2026, the European Commission said.
The plan proposes projects in six of the seven European flagship areas.
Investment In Education
According to Azevedo, the country does not need "more concrete" but investment in education and people's qualifications.
"We have good universities, good science. It is [necessary] to invest in the education of the Portuguese, which is what will take us away from being increasingly poor," she said, according to a report in the Portuguese news portal Dinheiro Vivo.
Azevedo expressed her views during the Spring Conference of the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (APED).
The head of Jerónimo Martins, Pedro Soares dos Santos, was also present at the conference and participated in a debate, along with Azevedo, on the future of retail in Portugal.
The report quoted him saying, "We live in a highly competitive world. [...] Prepare yourselves but it is so that the country can really attract investment and can be a very competitive competitor in the European market and even, somehow, in the world market, and that goes through one thing: education and training."
Soares dos Santos also said that he regrets not being able to increase business in Portugal since 2001 and criticised the tax burden that companies face.
