But for that to happen, she says, "cohesion policy must be strengthened to accommodate the enlargement of Ukraine and other countries in a normal way, similar to what happened in all other enlargements".

Citing the example of countries that have joined the Union since 2004, whose average income per inhabitant was about half of that of the Union, and which has risen to 80%, the commissioner stresses that "it was the cohesion policy that was the major player that stimulated them to grow".

Therefore, she says, "it is important that the funds that are currently available are used to increase resilience, competitiveness, the entire economy and internal balance".

For Elisa Ferreira, "there is a whole process of adaptation that has its own timeline", but it should be considered that in the long term, "the European market is opening up even more and providing opportunities for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which is a mini-Marshall Plan, but which is welcome to revitalise the entire European economy".

Regarding Portugal's role in this field, the commissioner believes that the country must be "interventionist" both in the timeline and in the preconditions, so that "an effective internal market (...) in which companies do not distort competition" and comply with "the usual public procurement rules" is achieved.

Elisa Ferreira did not fail, however, to be critical of the way the country itself has managed and manages the available cohesion funds, wondering if Portugal could not actually do better. And it can, in her opinion.

The commissioner believes that the Portuguese have already overcome "the historical problems related to the creation of the country's infrastructure", but she draws attention to "the importance of completing the railway, because it is in fact essential".

Elisa Ferreira calls for "thinking differently, namely by creating several "competition hubs" in the country, because it is not possible to "depend only on one industry, only one sector, or only one city or region".

That is why she claims that "more than discussing money, we have to discuss economic policies" and not necessarily party policies, because "that is another issue".

"The centre of concern" now -- she says -- must be to create added value and well-paid quality jobs, which "counteract this tendency of losing our best".

Questioned about the "brain drain" of young Portuguese people, Elisa Ferreira believes that this fact hinders the country's development, also because Portugal is one of the countries that is ageing most rapidly.

"This means that Portugal needs not only to be, let's say, careful, and I'm not saying protective, I'm saying that it has to deal with immigration and welcome immigrants because in the short term the situation will not change", she says.

According to the Commissioner for Cohesion, it would be even more serious if this happened "at the same time that the people in whom the country has invested the most, our young people, do not find spaces to fulfil themselves", which, in her opinion, also has a business and territorial dimension.

And she concludes: "we really have to think collectively whether in fact territorial rebalancing will not be one of the essential factors to revitalise the Portuguese economy and counteract trends such as the loss of the best".

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