Environmental modernization and administrative simplification in Portugal
Alexandra Aragão
elni Review 2016, Issue 1, pp. 10-17. https://doi.org/10.46850/elni.2016.002
The fight against bureaucracy has been a constitutional goal in Portugal since 1982, when the first constitutional amendments were made. In Article 267(1), the following was included on the organization and goals of the Public Administration: “the Public Administration shall be structured in such a way as to avoid bureaucratisation, bring departments and services closer to local people and ensure that interested parties take part in its effective management, particularly via public associations, residents’ organisations and other forms of democratic representation”. Unfortunately, the mere fact of having a constitutional article dedicated to bureaucracy does not automatically fulfil the intended goal unless there is also the political will, governmental commitment and institutional capacity to achieve the objective.
Since 2005 the conditions for serious and systematic simplification have finally been met. In this article, the legal and political context in which the first modernization initiatives occurred, firstly, is briefly explained. Then, the article moves on to a more detailed presentation and critical analysis of the recent legal changes that took place in 2015 and transformed the environmental bureaucracy landscape in Portugal.
References
- Presidency of the Council Ministers, 2005, Resolution by the Council of Ministers in 90/2005 of 13 May.
- President of the Republic of Portugal, 2007, Decree 49-C/2007 of the President of the Republic of the 17 May.
- Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2015, Decree-Law 251-A/2015, of 17 December.
- Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2007, Decree-Law 116/2007 of 27 April.
- National Assembly, 2007, Law 7/2007 of 5 February.
- Ministry of the Economy, Innovation and Development, 2010 Decree-Law 92/2010 of 26 July.
- Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2011, Decree-Law 48/2011 of 1 April.
- Ministry of Economy, 2015, Decree-Law 10/2015 of 16 January.
- OECD, 2008, “Making Life Easy for Citizens and Businesses in Portugal, Administrative Simplification and E-Government”. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264048263-en.
- National Assembly, 2014, Resolution 31/2014 of 11 April of the Assembly of the Republic.
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- Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2014, Decree-Law 72/2014 of 13 May establishing the Administrative Modernization network.
- Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2014, Resolution of the Council of Ministers 15/2013 of 19 March.
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- Ministry of Economy, 2014, Decree-Law 74/2014 of 13 May.
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- Aragão, Alexandra, “A avaliação europeia de impacte ambiental: a sina belga e a ventura lusa”, in: Revista do CEDOUA, no.1, vol. 3/1999, page 87 to 113.
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