In the Budget and Finance Committee (COF), the PAN party proposal to combat menstrual poverty was the first approved amendment proposal, within the scope of the discussion and voting in the specialty of the State Budget for 2023 (OE2023).

According to the proposal, which had the votes in favour of the PS, PAN, Bloco de Esquerda and the abstention of PSD, Chega, Iniciativa Liberal and PSD, during the next year, “the Government develops, in articulation with local authorities and non-governmental organizations government agencies, a pilot project with a view to the free distribution of feminine personal hygiene goods, as well as dissemination and clarification on typologies, indications, contraindications and conditions of use”.

The Left Block proposal, which provided for the “free distribution of menstrual products in health centres, schools, higher education institutions, prisons and among socially excluded populations was rejected”.

The PAN also saw the approval of a proposal to amend the Budget, which provides for a study to be carried out on the impact of what it calls the “pink tax”, that is, how much more women spend than men on similar products.

The PAN proposal predicts that, next year, the Government will prepare and present to the Assembly of the Republic a study on the impact of the “pink tax” in Portugal, which the party explains is the “value of products intended for women cost more than similar products intended for men.”

The party explains that the objective is “to estimate the price differences that male and female buyers face when buying products with similar characteristics”. PAN says that “it intends to ensure that the Government studies the impact of the pink tax on our country and on our consumer market”.