Rui Moreira advances the "Northern Solution" for the period ahead in an opinion article and launches the debate at Rivoli

Urgent investment in the recapitalisation of companies, technological innovation of the industry and the commitment to differentiate tourism offer: this is the tripod "Northern solution" for the post pandemic period advanced by Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira. 

In an opinion article signed by Rui Moreira in the Jornal de Notícias, the Mayor of Porto calls for a joint action in the Region in winning the resources that are available for the economic recovery and alerts that "the contribution to TAP" is a sign of what to expect.

Today, 24th July, the Rivoli hosts several mayors from northern municipalities to debate "Os caminhos da recuperação económica em Portugal: hipóteses a Norte" ["The Ways of Economic Recovery in Portugal: Prospects to the North", free translation].

The conference by JN, promoted in partnership with Porto City Hall, which started at 9.45am, is streamed live at the Jornal de Notícias site or Facebook. See here the full conference programme.

Rui Moreira also enhances that "This economic crisis is unprecedented because no one knows when it will be overcome, but the impact is in plain sight, not only because of the "sharp income loss", but also because of the "widespread liquidity crisis", which "requires a profound modification in the value chains".

Rui Moreira also states that more must be done in the long run, as the short-term, emergency measures will soon be exhausted.

Thus, the Mayor of Porto calls for mobilising the Northern Region in the search for an "appropriate strategy to its circumstances, which should determine the allocation of the State's scarce resources and, fundamentally, by the European Union".

There are dangers in store, the Mayor of Porto warns, as "if that strategy is not in place, those resources will be coveted by others and allocated to priorities other than those of the Northern Region".

Rui Moreira furthers this statement by signalling the red flag of the State's intervention in TAP, which should work as a wakeup call.

The Northern region has to insure itself and capitalise on its strengths, "which are industry and tourism", as stated by Rui Moreira.

While it is true that this is a traditionally industrialised region that is strongly driven to export", which kept numerous sectors running even amid the worst period of the ongoing pandemic, where medium-sized companies predominate, the so called "mid-caps", the fact remains that in the period ahead, industry will become severely restricted regarding "demand, consumption retraction and consumption chain disruption".

The urgent solution, according to Rui Moreira, is to "allocate the resources available to ensure other companies' accelerated growth, which requires a strong investment on technological innovation and product and target market diversification, the only formula able to create and maintain jobs".

As for tourism, Rui Moreira affirms that it is imperative to pursue "product differentiation" and calls on the importance of safety as a general perception by the prospective tourist.

According to Rui Moreira, "Portugal is wrong to postpone sanitation measures in airports and by disseminating data that are not relevant for Europeans".

Infrastructure wise, Rui Moreira asserts that this is an opportunity for investment, which can originate from European funds, to bet on environmental sustainable driven solutions, namely in transport and tape cost reduction, namely in the transport area".

Read here the full opinion article by Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira in Jornal de Notívias, on 24th July 2020.