State reforms will solve problems faced by Portuguese says minister

Portugal’s Minister for State Reform, Gonçalo Matias, has backed changes in the law regarding the country’s public spending watchdog the Court of Auditors (Tribunal de Contas) and the Public Procurement Code.

The Portuguese people are the primary beneficiaries of public contracts, the Minister for State Reform said on Wednesday at the Advisory Summit 2026 conference organised by the business publication Jornal Económico.

Gonçalo Saraiva Matias backed the reforms implemented by the government regarding the Court of Auditors’ legislation and the Public Procurement Code, specifically the raising of the threshold for direct awards from €20,000 to €75,000.

The minister believes this change will benefit the ultimate recipients of these contracts: the citizens.

“The thresholds need to be adjusted; they were too restrictive and did not allow for the necessary flexibility. These decisions are in the interest of the Portuguese people; the Portuguese people are the beneficiaries of these contracts,” said the Minister Assistant and of State Reform.

“These are goods and services necessary to meet the needs of public entities. If the work is done poorly, or is delayed and untimely, it is the Portuguese people who suffer the consequences,” he observed.

State reform “is about solving problems for the Portuguese people. There is no aim to destroy the State and build something else in its place,” he added during his speech.

“It is about simplifying, eliminating bureaucracy, and resolving people’s problems in a timely manner. That is what we are doing,” said Saraiva Matias.

Source and image: Jornal Ecónomico