NRP Portugal

objectivealongwithitsimpactsontheincreasedefficiencyinthemanagementofthefundingofStateactivities,notablybyreducingthestockincirculationandtheresulting financial burdens for the State. These developments will be pursuedthrough better programming of financing, increased negotiating capacity with thefinancial system, better control of credit and liquidity risks, the minimisation ofoperational risks, and the extension of the State’s central treasury to entitieshithertoexcludedfromit,benefitingalsofromthepursuitofthepolicyallocatingtheresultofthesaleofpublicparticipationstotheamortizationofthepublicdebt.Inparticular,withregardtheprivatisationpolicybasedonthereorganisationofthepublicparticipationsportfolio,participationsincompaniesinactivitysectorswhichdonotjustifytheState’sdirectpresencefromthepublicinterestviewpointwillbedisposed of, as will participations where the State has a residual shareholderposition and which were obtained as a result of business restructuring processes.ThereductionoftheState’sweightinthebusinesssectorwill,inturn,enablegreatercompetitionthusfavouringtheefficientapplicationofeconomicresourcesandtheincreaseofcompanycompetitiveness.The improved financial sustainability of the State’s business sector is one of themain vehicles of public policies; as such, it makes a positive contribution to thesustainability of public finances. In fact, the accumulation of negative results anddebt by public companies can become an additional risk for the sustainability ofpublic finances as in the case, for example, of the State needing to assume theliabilities of a public company in order to guarantee that the latter honours itscommitmentsthusensuringitssurvival.In the area of Public – Private Partnerships that follows up on the measuresimplementedin2006and2007andtakestheintergenerationalequityprincipleintoaccount,theplanningandcontrolmechanismsofthisimplementationinstrumentofpublicpolicieswillbestrengthened.Theconsolidationofpublicaccountsandtheirsustainabilityareessentialtoimprovethe competitiveness of our economy, by orienting resources to more productivepurposessoastostrengthenfinancialstabilityandconfidenceinthefutureofthePortuguese economy, creating conditions for increased private investment, and toguaranteethesustainabilityofsocialpolicies.The evolution of the composition of the public expenditure should reflect itsprogressive orientation to increasing competitiveness and employment, inaccordancewiththeguidelinesoftheLisbonStrategyandtheNationalReformPlan,aswellastheneedtoconfrontthestructuralincreaseoftheexpendituresensitivetotheageingofthepopulation.Hence, in relation to previous years, the weight of public investment in humancapital,inR&D(inducingprivateinvestmentinR&D),inscienceandtechnology,andinpublicinfrastructuresofhighaddedvalue,notablywiththesectorialtechnologicalplans,shouldbeincreasedasaproportionofthetotalprimaryexpenses.Hence,the10