Portuguese Public Finance Council in the European Week of Regions and Cities

The Portuguese Public Finance Council took part in the OPEN DAYS 2013 – 11^th European Week of Regions and Cities, held in Brussels between 7-10 October. The public finance dimension was addressed in several workshops and debates, namely the workshop dedicated to “The State of Decentralisation in Europe”, in which Rui Nuno Baleiras, Executive Member of the Portuguese Public Finance Council, took part as a guest speaker. This Open Days’ University workshop aimed at taking stock of the progress of decentralisation in various EU member states.

A predominant economic and financial crisis context in many European countries, overarching demographic and urbanization trends, as well as some distinct political and constitutional problems, have led specialists to believe that the process of ’decentralisation’ has stalled in the majority of EU member states. Rui Nuno Baleiras’ address focused on the “ Incentive design: how decentralisation offenses may turn into national fiscal distress ” and the dangerous temptation of cutting on decentralisation to improve public finance positions.

Date of last update: 08/10/2013