Portugal will support key sectors amid rising fuel costs
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The Portuguese government plans to resume financial support for freight transport, firefighters, the social sector, and taxi drivers to offset increasing fuel prices, announced Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The government previously offered similar aid that ended on June 30th, and now intends to present a new proposal to the Council of Ministers. The aid may take the form of support per vehicle or a discount on each liter of fuel consumed, similar to previous measures.
Carvalho stated the government prioritises helping the sectors most in need and will use additional VAT revenue to lower the ISP, a tax on petroleum products, avoiding profiting from the crisis. So far, the government has allocated around one billion euros through discounts on the ISP and expects this figure to reach 1.3 billion euros by the year's end.
While acknowledging international factors like conflicts in the Gulf and Ukraine, as well as refinery closures, are driving up diesel prices, Carvalho warned that continued shortages could impact peripheral regions and ultra-peripheral regions. The government is also pursuing long-term solutions like decarbonising transport through electrification and renewable fuels.
