What Portugal would get from €750 billion EU recovery fund proposal, and businesses struggling with few customers and little aid
English language coronavirus news in Portugal on May 27, 2020.
By the numbers
Today brings another small increase in new daily confirmed cases (285 verse 219) the day before but it’s still roughly within the zone we’ve been seeing since about May 9. Deaths and recoveries are even more stable compared to the past few days. Greater Lisbon continues to be the focus of the continuing outbreak, with 277 of the country’s 285 new cases today in the Lisbon and Tejo Valley region.
€750 billion fund to fight ‘unprecedented crisis’
The European Commission has proposed a €750 billion recovery fund to help drag the bloc out of the “unprecedented crisis” of the coronavirus, the BBC reports in English. For Portugal the proposal, which all 27 nations would need to accept, would mean €26 billion in assistance, according to Público. That money would be €15.5 billion in direct grants and the rest in loans with favourable terms. To receive the funds, countries will need to follow strict conditions and commit to a reform plan previously negotiated with Brussels. The debt will be taken on by the whole bloc and paid back over 30 years, according to the BBC. The so-called “Frugal Four” of Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden had objected to this approach but the engine rooms of France and Germany had backed jointly issued debt. Portugal’s response to the pandemic has already cost $660 million until the end of April, worsening the budget deficit, Público reports.
Shops fear short-lived reopening as aid comes in ‘dribs and drabs’
Within a national economy struggling from the effects of both the lockdown and a lack of tourism, many sectors have been hit particularly hard. Reuters takes an in-depth look, in English, at the problems facing the country’s small businesses as they reopen to a distinct absence of customers. In one particularly dire example, Discoteca Amalia owner Rosa Amalia said she’d had four customers since May 4. According to Ministry of Labour data, 83,000 businesses have received an average of €432 per worker in government funds, much less as a proportion of GDP than many other countries. But the problems go beyond just the amount of money given and to the timing and the “dribs and drabs” manner in which it is delivered. It’s worth a read.
Warning over misleading ads for masks and hand sanitiser
Two Portuguese authorities have warned consumers to be on the lookout for misleading ads for masks and hand sanitiser, Diário de Notícias reports. The consumer and advertising agencies warned ads for hand sanitiser, protective masks and cleaning products could be false or misleading and urged buyers to pay “special attention”. In a guide released today, the Directorate-General for Consumers and the advertising self-regulator also warned shoppers not to believe any sites or social network posts claiming to have a cure for COVID-19.
In brief
Theatres, cinemas and concert rooms can reopen with one free space between ticketholders. Spectators must wear a mask and outdoor concerts must have pre-assigned spaces as the sector reopens from Monday.
Prime Minister says TAP route plan "doesn't have credibility" without prior knowledge of the country’s plan for reopening the borders.
Study suggests risk of contagion in closed spaces is 19 times greater than outdoors
On a lighter note
June in Lisbon is about parties and sardines. Unfortunately this year the famous Santos Populares (popular saints) parties have been cancelled. But we’ll still get the sardines, in the ocean, in restaurants and in the creative interpretations of the country’s artists. The 10th anniversary of the Festas de Lisboa sardine design contest is almost over but you can still vote for your favourites until tomorrow. Voting is with a Facebook "like" so just flick through the designs in this Facebook album here (Not the Instagram post - that’s just for decoration).