Chega questioned the Prime Minister this Tuesday about his presence in the Europa League football final, in particular why he did not put it on the public agenda, who bore the costs of the stopover and when he decided to go to Budapest.
Speaking at a press conference this Tuesday at the party’s headquarters in Lisbon, Chega’s president André Ventura said the clarification that António Costa was in the final at UEFA’s invitation “raises more problems and other questions”, as hence why the Prime Minister tried to “hide this invitation from the Portuguese and Portuguese institutions”.
“A prime minister who decides on his own initiative to divert the route from a trip to a football final without being included in an official commitment from the Portuguese state must explain,” he defended.
According to Chega’s leader, the party’s concern, through parliament, was “to question the Prime Minister’s office directly about this trip, the motivations and the conditions”, reiterating that “as the news is public, the public ministry does not require a complaint or indictment to act”.
Chega wants to know when António Costa “decided he was going to watch the Europa League final” and, if he was invited by UEFA and deserved protocol treatment, “why wasn’t it on the public agenda”.
According to Ventura, he was also asked “who bore the cost of this scale and the associated costs” and “whether the anticipation of the parliamentary debate that took place on May 24, instead of May 31, was due to the participation of the minister president. minister in the final”.
“If there is a dimension of justice, it is one that is of politics and surveillance. The Prime Minister cannot and must not use State resources at will, in a completely discretionary manner, even if he has the authorization of the President of the Republic for the goal,” he said.
For the leader of Chega, “either this was an official trip and it makes sense that it is supported by the state treasury, or this was a private trip, to give a hug to José Mourinho, to hug the footballers, but it had to be paid by the Portuguese Prime Minister and not by the taxpayer”.
On Monday, IL leader Rui Rocha sent questions to António Costa to find out, among other things, why this invitation is not on the official agenda.
The prime minister said in a statement released Monday from his office that he attended the Europa League football final in Budapest on the 31st at the invitation of UEFA and sat next to his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orbán. , by protocol treatment.
On May 31, António Costa, traveling in an Air Force Falcon 50, made a stopover in Budapest on his way to Moldova for the European Political Community Summit, with the stop not appearing on his public agenda, as reported by the Observer. .
According to the same newspaper, the head of the Portuguese government, together with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, attended the Europa League football final match between Sevilla and Roma, the Italian team led by José Mourinho.
The stop in Hungary drew criticism from the opposition, who demanded clarification from António Costa.
Source: DN
