The Prime Minister, António Costa, is awaiting the final conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry’s report to TAP to assess whether political consequences can be drawn and said the government is “calm and rested”.
“I don’t know what’s in the report, I’m waiting for the final conclusions of the report to find out if there are any other political consequences,” said António Costa.
The Prime Minister responded to journalists in Aveiro after being questioned about the specific case of Infrastructure Minister João Galamba, whose resignation request he refused on May 2.
António Costa noted that he has not yet read the preliminary report and said the government is calm about the conclusions.
“We are absolutely calm and rested from the start,” said the prime minister, stressing that steps still need to be taken until the final conclusions are reached, from the presentation and discussion of proposed amendments by parliamentary groups to the adoption of the final report.
Faced with urging from journalists, Costa responded that now is not the time to comment on the report.
“Now this report has been presented by the rapporteur and circulated to the parliamentary groups. The parliamentary groups will certainly put forward proposals for amendments. At that time, if there is something to say, I will say something,” he said.
The head of government also said that the government’s main mission is to ensure that Portugal does not lose an important strategic asset, namely TAP, and said that the restructuring plan for TAP approved by the European Commission “has gone well so far”.
“TAP’s results last year were much better than what was foreseen in the restructuring plan. I think they are already very close to what was foreseen for the 2024/2025 phase, in the ‘end point’ of the program”, he noted.
Regarding TAP’s re-privatization process, Costa said that the first step has already been taken with the choice of the entities that will carry out the evaluation and that the legislative decree will soon be approved in the Council of Ministers that will open the privatization process.
The preliminary report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the Political Oversight of TAP’s Board, prepared by PS deputy Ana Paula Bernardo, concludes that there is no connection between the departure of Alexandra Reis and her appointment as president of NAV, nor pressure or political intervention by guardians.
In the conclusions, the deputy points out that “there are no material situations that indicate a practice of interference in the current management of the company by receivership”.
Source: DN
