The Ministry of Infrastructure said this Thursday that it was told on January 16 that TAP was interested in participating in the next day’s meeting with the PS group and that João Galamba “had no objection”.
“The Minister of Infrastructure has been informed that on the afternoon of January 16, TAP has expressed interest in participating in the meeting with the PS party,” the ministry said in a statement.
Underlining that this is a common practice aimed at “sharing communications”, the Minister’s Office added that “The Minister of Infrastructure had no objection to TAP’s participation in the meeting, scheduled by the Government Chamber of Parliamentary Affairs for January 17, and his cabinet acted accordingly”.
“Under the terms of the Rules of the Assembly of the Republic and in accordance with parliamentary practice and that of all parliamentary groups, meetings between deputies, members of the government, leaders of public administration or public companies are customary and intended for information sharing,” the same note reads.
The meeting, which took place at noon on January 17, the eve of the parliamentary hearing of TAP Executive Chair Christine Ourmières-Widener, was not attended by the Minister of Infrastructure, while the Infrastructure Area was represented by Deputy Frederico Pinheiro and expert technician Cátia Rosas, explained to the government.
The ministry also recalled that during Tuesday’s hearing at the investigative committee, TAP’s executive president “stated that at no time during this meeting, on January 17, she felt any attempt at conditioning or instrumentalization,” stating that she had more of a ‘briefing’ “than a strategy meeting” and did not remember “any combination of questions”.
Christine Ourmières-Widener on Tuesday confirmed a complaint from the Liberal Initiative (IL) about the meeting with the PS group, on the eve of the parliamentary run, in January, to explain the compensation to former administrator Alexandra Reis.
Deputy Bernardo Blanco, from IL, wanted to know if there was a combination of questions and answers in that meeting in the clarifications to be given to the Assembly of the Republic, which the manager said she did not remember.
“I think the intention was to ask questions about the process and I answered those questions,” said the still-executive president, adding that according to her agenda no members of the government were present at the said meeting, but advisers and heads of state of cabinet of government members.
Asked who took the initiative to hold the meeting, Christine Ourmières-Widener said that, if she remembers correctly, it came from the office of the Minister of Infrastructure, who was already João Galamba at the time.
In December, Alexandra Reis took office as Secretary of State for Finance, and then controversy erupted over the compensation she received when she left the state airline, leading to a reshuffle in the government, including the departure of Pedro Nuno Santos. who was replaced by João Galamba.
Read the statement in full:
– In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic and in accordance with parliamentary practice and that of all parliamentary groups, meetings between Members of Parliament, members of the government, leaders of public administration or public companies are customary and are intended for sharing information;
– The Minister of Infrastructure has been informed that TAP has indicated on the afternoon of January 16 that it is interested in participating in the meeting with the PS party.
– The Minister of Infrastructure did not oppose TAP’s participation in the meeting, which was scheduled for January 17 by the Administrative Area for Parliamentary Affairs, and his cabinet proceeded accordingly;
– The meeting took place on January 17 at noon, without the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure. On the part of the Infrastructures Administrative Area, Deputy Dr. Frederico Pinheiro and Specialized Technician Eng.ª Cátia Rosas;
– At the TAP CEO hearing held within the framework of the TAP Commission of Inquiry, the TAP Executive Chair stated that at no point during this meeting, on January 17, she felt any attempt at conditioning or instrumentalization and that is transcribed: “The people wanted to understand what was happening, it was more of a briefing than a strategy meeting (…) I can’t remember a combination of questions”.
Source: DN
