National Defense Minister Helena Carreiras denied that the GNR exceeded its powers by asking Frontex for a plane. [Agência de Fronteiras Europeia] patrolling the Sea of the Azores, announcing that the mission was planned between the various competent institutions. This assurance contradicts the official answers from the Air Force and Navy sent to the DN when questioned on the subject and published in yesterday’s edition.
“This is a police mission, complementary to the one the Air Force has already carried out, of surveillance, and work is underway between the Air Force and GNR, regarding the planning of these missions,” the minister said. to the Lusa Agency.
With this sentence, the official commented on the headline of yesterday’s edition of Diário de Notícias, which mentioned a request from the GNR to Frontex for the transfer of an aircraft to patrol the Azores, which would have happened without communications with the Air Force and Navy. At the same time, Helena Carreiras questioned the clarifications provided to the DN.
The Air Force stressed that it “has not received any request from the GNR for the mission in question”, noting that “in accordance with the law and in the context of maritime and land surveillance and patrol capabilities, the Air Force carries out missions aimed at ensure in the strategic area of national importance, inter alia, the surveillance and control of maritime borders, customs smuggling, drug trafficking and illegal immigration”.
In response to DN, an official Navy source also said that he has not received any requests for cooperation from the GNR for maritime patrols and that he has no connection with that military force in the process.
However, the PSD yesterday submitted a request for the defense minister to be heard before the Defense Committee in parliament and sent the interior minister, José Luís Carneiro, a request for clarification on this issue.
Source: DN
