03.01.2022
Type: Press
Inês Sequeira Mendes identifies the great challenges for 2022
Inês Sequeira Mendes, Managing Partner at Abreu Advogados, participated in the Jornal Económico [a Portuguese business newspaper] Forum, where she refers to the main economic challenges for 2022.
In the scope of the “Forum” segment in which leaders of several companies answer the question “What are the great challenges for Portugal in 2022?”, Inês Sequeira Mendes states: “The challenges are long and short term. Of the former, I would highlight the demographic challenge. The population continues to decline and age, with consequences for the stability and cohesion of our social model and for the competitiveness and productivity of our economy. But we also have the challenges of growth, of qualifying the population and adapting it to the labour market, of productivity, of reducing public debt and expenditure and improving the tax system, among others. In the short term, managing to control the new Covid-19 variants is essential for the business fabric and the national economy, avoiding an increase in insolvencies, with direct consequences for the evolution of employment and the national GDP and for the country’s recovery. 2022 is also a year of opportunities, particularly due to the increased speed of execution of the RRP. It is fundamental that the more than 16 million euros are well applied, ensuring that the State and companies are in a position to use them in the best way, achieving effective improvements for society and the economy. The ability to adapt to digitalisation is a real and transversal challenge. From new working realities to new growing trends in the financial market (Cryptoactive, NFTs, Fintech or Insurtech), it is important to clarify the respective legal framework, namely in tax terms. Finally, the profound transformation of the EU development model, triggered by the European Ecological Pact and all the initiatives that followed it – among them the European Climate Law and the Fit for 55 Package. The changes imposed by the decarbonisation process of the economy will significantly impact the economic and financial fabric, changing the perspective regarding the quality and usefulness of companies, products, services and investments, desirably increasingly sustainable at environmental, social and governance levels. The ESG as a new paradigm brings with it a distinct language and new technical criteria for assessing compliance with sustainability objectives. 2022 will bring Portuguese companies closer to these requirements and their ability to adapt is one of the biggest challenges they will face in the coming years”.
Read the full article here [article is written in Portuguese].
