Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos said Thursday that integrating TAP into a major aviation group “may be the only way to ensure the viability of a strategic company for the country”.
“It was always clear to us [Governo] that TAP could not survive on its own in the medium term in such a highly globalized and competitive market. Integrating TAP into a group would create important synergies and increase the resilience to face the volatility that characterizes aviation. In fact, this may be the only way to ensure the viability of a strategic company for the country,” said the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, taking part this afternoon in a debate requested by the PSD on the privatization of TAP. in the Assembly of the Republic.
The official stressed that the opening of TAP’s capital “will be decided on time and in the way that best defends the national interest”.
“One guarantee we can give: we will not repeat the sale of the right, which was completed behind closed doors, two days after we knew their government would fall, in a deal that was still sufficiently well explained to the country.”accused Pedro Nuno Santos.
The Minister of Infrastructure criticized the sale of TAP, in the government led by Pedro Passos Coelho, for ten million euros, but the state took “responsibility for all debts prior to privatization, and also for the future, in case the The company’s new owner defaulted.”
“If things went wrong for the private sector, the state would buy the company and pay the debts. As if this were not enough, they also announced a private sector capitalization of 224 million euros, which in practice only resulted in more financial commitments to the company at a much higher value than what the new owner injected.” Pedro Nuno Santos.
The official guaranteed that with this government, the privatization of TAP will have to create the conditions to make the company more competitive and sustainable and the expansion of the Lisbon hub (passenger turntable), which he classified as “the largest national aviation asset”.
“The hub gives Portugal the central position in the Atlantic that it does not have on the European continent. Protecting and defending it is the best way for TAP to serve the country”emphasized the minister.
Pedro Nuno Santos also accused the PSD of “being unable to take a clear position” regarding the intervention in TAP, without saying what the solution would be to resolve the emergency situation faced by TAP during faced the pandemic.
“The nationalization of the company in 2020 should happen, even if TAP was completely private at the time. What was at stake was the lack of a public TAP or a private TAP, what was at stake was survival or the bankruptcy of TAP”, the Minister of Infrastructure repeated.
In opening the current debate on “the privatization of TAP”, characterized by the PSD, Social Democratic deputy Paulo Moniz accused the PS government of being responsible for reversing the privatization of TAP, which it now offers to private customers. want to sell again.
“It forced all Portuguese to be liable for the total damage, money that the country does not have and that will be needed in these uncertain times”criticized.
The Social Democrat also criticized the government for now “rushing to sell the national airline in 12 months”, without ever having the humility to admit it was all wrong.
“This is a debate for the decency of political action, for the rigor of the state. For decent people, debt doesn’t die unmarried and if you fail, you are assumed to fail,” he criticized.
Paulo Moniz went back to the period of the ‘troika’ memorandum to point out that the privatization of TAP, carried out by the PSD/CDS-PP government led by Passos Coelho, was already foreseen in the document also signed by the former socialist executive of José Socrates.
“Privatization was an aggravated operational emergency, there was no money to pay for fuel,” he defended, lamenting that in 2016 the government led by António Costa carried out “the PREC, a program of ideological reversals.” in process”.
PSD accuses government of “cheating” the country, PS asks for alternative presentation
The PSD accused the government of “a sham” for wanting to “rush” privatize TAP after nationalizing it, predicting “disaster” and the total loss of the €3.2 billion already injected into the company.
In the current debate of the Social Democrats on the privatization of TAP, PS, but also BE and even Chega regretted that PSD did not present what their alternative to the company was.
In a first intervention, the PSD predicted that with the future privatization of TAP, the government will not be able to recover the 3.2 billion euros it has already invested in the airline.
“The Portuguese have lost 3 billion euros, then your apology is no longer enough. Is the minister convinced that the buyer will realize capital gains compared to the 3.2 billion euros that the Portuguese put in? There will be no illusions”, accused Paulo Moniz, addressed to the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos.
Afterwards, PSD deputy António Prôa said he did not understand how Pedro Nuno Santos could stand up for the privatization of the company, recalling that the minister was one of the main defenders of the ‘geingonça’ with the PCP, BE and PEV, parties that want TAP in the public sphere.
“They promised that with the PS TAP would be public, but they privatized it, it was a sham. They promised a great TAP, but unfortunately TAP today is a ‘little tap’ (…) I sincerely hope I can wrong, but I fear I am right and the disaster is total”warned.
In the current debate, the PSD has been repeatedly challenged to explain what its option would be for TAP and accused of being a “protest party”.
“What did they do with the company in 2020? Or do they want to be Chega, Livre, BE, who don’t want to be responsible or say once and for all what they would do with TAP? They have no idea,” the deputy accused president of the socialist group Carlos Pereira.
The deputy assured that the PS never changed its mind about the importance of having a strategic partner in the company, and assured that he would not repeat what he believes happened to the privatization process in 2015 by a PSD/CDS- PP Government “besides the 25th hour, in secret”.
“As far as making difficult decisions, the PSD doesn’t learn lessons from anyone, especially the PS, as we had to save the country in 2011. In fact, I’m afraid that due to the bad governance of you and your government, unfortunately it has to country let the PSD again make difficult decisions and govern, but make difficult decisions,” replied António Prôa.
“The deputy will still leave this parliament and I will still be there,” Pedro Nuno Santos told Ventura
Infrastructure Minister André Ventura replied that he will still be a minister when Chega’s leader ceases to be a deputy, during the PSD-required debate on the privatization of TAP in the Assembly of the Republic.
“The deputy will still leave this parliament and I will still be there,” Pedro Nuno Santos replied to André Ventura.
The Chega leader had previously made a prediction that Pedro Nuno Santos will not remain in government for much longer.
“I don’t know how much longer he will be Minister of Infrastructure – I think little if I know the law of this country and the Prime Minister – but the disaster of TAP will be with you and with your government forever,” Andre accused ventura.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing accused André Ventura of conducting an “exercise of populism” during the intervention in the debate on TAP.
“[O Chega] simultaneously wants to show that it is concerned about the money injected into TAP, while it wants TAP to be saved. It doesn’t explain how TAP is saved without public money”be Pedro Nuno Santos.
The government official also accused the PSD of failing to believe it is defending “the end of TAP”.
“The courage to rule is the courage to make difficult decisions and the PSD does not have the courage to assume what it would do. The consequence of the PSD’s speech was the end of TAP.” minister.
Pedro Nuno Santos also emphasized that TAP meets the objectives of the restructuring plan negotiated in advance with the European Commission.
“The truth is that TAP has now been paying the Portuguese since the first day it was rescued,” the official said, referring to indicators such as passengers carried or purchases the airline makes from Portuguese companies.
Sitava: ‘The national interest is not guaranteed with this or other privatization’
During a parliamentary intervention, the Union of Aviation and Airport Workers (Sitava) opposed the privatization of TAP and stated that the sale to private parties does not protect the public interest.
At a hearing, at the Committee on Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing, Sitava’s coordinator, Fernando Henriques, assured that “this or other privatization will not safeguard the national interest”.
“Sitava, the largest trade union in the TAP group, with more than 2,500 members, is frontally and clearly against the privatization of TAP,” he said, recalling previous efforts, as well as the result of the privatization of the company, carried out anno 2015.
At the time, he emphasized, there was no “growth of TAP”. TAP “didn’t grow, it was swelling. And everything that swells will burst,” he stressed, warning that the carrier currently has 30% less staff to cope with a service level that has already returned to 2019 .
The Sitava coordinator also criticized TAP’s administration, which “seems as if it only has the autonomy to choose the fleet of vehicles or the luxury offices they want to go to”.
At the same hearing, Erasmo Vasconcelos, head of the Labor Commission of the Portuguese Handling Services (airport ground assistance), warned of the consequences a privatization of TAP could have on Groundforce, which is still involved in insolvency proceedings.
The official warned that a prospective owner might think the company is in surplus and defended “the maintenance of TAP in the public sphere”.
Erasmo Vasconcelos also expressed some concern about the potential acquisition of Groundforce by a private company, the NAS group, and warned that it could trigger changes to the company’s agreement.
The union leader still needs to consider the effects of inflation on workers, and calls for a salary update.
When asked whether the entry of a private individual to TAP committed to labor stability was more acceptable to the Commission, Erasmo Vasconcelos replied that it was first necessary to understand whether the state would remain as a shareholder and with what participation, but warned that if it is a minority who thought that workers’ rights might not be guaranteed.
This Wednesday, unions of pilots, crews and maintenance technicians called for “efficient” and “transparent” management of TAP, either in a public or private model, while the Workers’ Commission rejected privatization and country associations defended it.
Source: DN
