The government this Wednesday justified its refusal to send TAP’s Commission of Inquiry the legal opinions that supported the resignation of the company’s former CEO with the need to “protect the public interest”.
In a note to Lusa, the office of Deputy Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, claims that “the opinion in question does not fall within the scope of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI)” and that “its disclosure carries risks in the legal defense of the state’s position”.
“It is precisely for this reason that the government’s response to the CPI is aimed at protecting the public interest,” said the note from Ana Catarina Mendes’ office.
The government claims that “the firing proceedings of the former CEO and chairman of TAP have been the subject of public demonstrations likely to lead to lawsuits between those involved and the state”.
Ana Catarina Mendes’s office expresses “all availability” of the government “to cooperate with the Assembly of the Republic and in particular with the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry”, assuring that “respect is absolute”.
However, it rejects “a climate of permanent tension around a CPI that must work quietly and on which the government cooperates with all institutional fidelity”.
This position comes on the day when the PSD, through deputy Paulo Moniz, accused the government of “acting outside the law” for refusing to send the opinions of the TAP Commission of Inquiry that gave “legal support” to the firing for valid reason from former CEO of TAP, Christine Ourmières-Widener.
The PSD Coordinator of the TAP Commission of Inquiry, Paulo Moniz, explained that through a request for the legal basis referred to by Finance Minister Fernando Medina, the party asked “during the March 6 press conference announcing the resignation for just cause of the CEO of TAP”.
Coincidentally, we were surprised, very surprised, in fact surprised that this information was not sent to us, where it is immediately clear that the ministers have not only misled the Portuguese with regard to the published legal certainty of their decision, but came also to the conclusion that those same ministers are acting outside the law,” the Social Democrat accused,” said the Social Democratic deputy.
Source: DN
