Gonçalo Matias argued that the central objective of the State reform is to "make life easier for people and businesses."

"It's the State stepping out of the way of people and businesses, and letting people work, letting businesses work," he said, considering that many bureaucratic procedures "only exist because they involve the payment of a fee."

After reviewing the measures taken by this new Ministry in the first month of the 25th Government—notably the creation of the CTO (Chief Systems Officer) of the State—he announced others to be implemented soon, such as the creation of a "one-stop shop for businesses," which he said should not be confused with the existing one-stop shop for entrepreneurs.

"It's a new measure of centralization. Having a single interlocutor for business owners in public administration. And it allows for a single voice, a single face, which will then be channelled to all other services," he explained.

The former president of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation provided some figures to give an idea of ​​the impact of bureaucracy in this area.

"Studies show that it takes 356 hours to open a company, and on top of that, another 391 hours in bureaucratic obligations alone, which means approximately 750 hours in the first year," he stated, adding that anyone wanting to start a company in Portugal "starts four months behind" compared to countries like Poland and Slovakia.

Planning licensing

Gonçalo Matias announced that the government also intends to review industrial, environmental, and urban planning licensing, with the latter "in the pipeline very soon."

"With such important aspects as shortening deadlines and ensuring deadlines. These days, when someone asks me how long it will take to license this construction project, no one knows," he said.

According to the minister, "in many cases," licensing will be moved to prior notifications, and when deadlines are exceeded, the principle of tacit approval will apply, emphasizing that one of the foundations of state reform is based on "the principle of trust."

"We cannot assume that anyone doing something is trying to deceive us. We have to trust people, and, of course, later hold those who fail to comply accountable," he said.

Faced with a more critical question—whether the government is failing to communicate these measures—the Deputy Minister admitted that state reform will be a lengthy process, arguing that "it is not possible to have accumulated 50 years of bureaucracy and reverse everything in two or three months."

"There's no other way to carry out a profound reform of the State, unless it's just cosmetic, unless it's just political 'marketing,' and you can't count on me for that," he warned, criticizing the legacy of the socialist government.

"We inherited a slower country, a country that steals opportunities," he accused.

The minister made a point of reiterating the government's commitment that this reform—made a priority by the prime minister—will not involve "any layoff program in the public administration."

Facing an audience of young people, Gonçalo Matias—who was one of the most applauded speakers at this Summer University—admitted that it is difficult to retain in Portugal a generation with qualifications above the European average and salaries well below, but he made a request.

"Don't lose hope, don't abandon the country, don't think that Portugal is an exporter of talent because Portugal is a talent aggregator," he appealed.