After the report of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on TAP’s accounts admitted suspicions of wrongdoing in the privatisation of the airline, the parties called for political consequences. They want to hear in Parliament Maria Luis Albuquerque, appointed by the government to the European Commission and then Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz. But they also ask the Prime Minister to make a statement on the case and the Public Prosecutor’s Office to carry out a prompt investigation.

Pinto Luz and the TAP controversy: “Since I took office, my position belongs to the Prime Minister”

PS asks Montenegro to clarify whether he maintains confidence in Pinto Luz

While the Socialist Party challenges the Prime Minister to clarify whether he still has confidence in the Minister of Infrastructure Miguel Pinto Luz (who at the time of privatisation was Secretary of State for Transport), the PSD rejects the political responsibilities of Pinto Luz and stresses that the IGF report does not provide anything new.

The state’s intervention in TAP “was necessary” because of the pandemic, the leader of the socialist parliamentary group, Alexandra Leitão, begins by arguing. This “will happen in mid-2020.” There, “the government met Neeleman in the company’s shareholding structure,” who opposed this intervention, so it was necessary to negotiate his exit.

“In 2022, TAP reaches conclusions similar to those of the IGF” in a report on the company itself and when the PS receives this document it quickly sends it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. And “here we have arrived”, with “a new fact”: “We have an entity, the IGF, that corroborates and confirms these suspicions.“And we have a minister, “the same person who led this process, being the same person who today leads a process of privatization of TAP.”

Refusing to say whether Miguel Pinto Luz is capable or not of continuing to govern, the socialists only demand that “the President of the Government come and say whether he maintains political confidence in Miguel Pinto Luz to continue leading the process.”

PSD rejects Neeleman’s claim that he bought TAP with his own money

The PSD, through the voice of deputy Gonçalo Lage, highlights that the report published this Monday does not contribute anything “new to public knowledge or that has [não] It has already been debated and already disqualified in the CPI itself. [Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito]The Social Democrat MP stressed that “this matter has been going on for nine years and to this day, after countless meetings”, the party does not foresee that “any new facts have emerged”.

In the Assembly of the Republic, and in front of journalists, Gonçalo Lage criticized the parties for, he says, commenting on a report that is not yet known to the deputies.There is a great rush on the part of several parties because they are working on a report that the deputies are unaware of.”, said the MP, adding that the document has not yet been submitted to the parliamentary economic committee.

Gonçalo Lage added that “the PSD has already submitted the request for a hearing with the head of the IGF, so that he can provide all the clarifications to the AR, presenting the report” and stated that David Neleman did not buy TAP with TAP’s own money. . “Because to buy the company you had to buy the company’s shares.”, he justified. The deputy also rejected any political consequences for the Minister of Infrastructure. “Miguel Pinto Luz has all the conditions to continue exercising his functions as minister,” he assured.

On Livre’s side, the understanding is different. The conclusions of the report “seem quite serious to us.” “We submitted a request to hear from the political leaders of the time — Maria Luis Albuquerque, Miguel Pinto Luz [que em 2015 era secretário de Estado das Infraestruturas, Transportes e Comunicações] and Sérgio Monteiro, must be heard urgently in the economic commission,” said Isabel Mendes Lopes. The president of the Livre parliamentary group also argued that “it is very important that the investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office be carried out as quickly as possible.”

The case is now in the hands of the MP, the government announced on Tuesday. In fact, the suggestion came from the IGF, which, upon detecting alleged crimes in the process of privatization of TAP and in the management of David Neeleman and Humberto Pedrosa, recommended sending the report to the MP.

IGF concludes that Neeleman bought TAP through a contract with Airbus and questions the agreement in Brazil

“It is important to understand whether there are reasons that are detrimental to the public interest and it is important that this process is very agile. Something serious happened in 2015″said the deputy from Livre.

This opinion is shared by the sole deputy of the PAN, Inês Sousa Real, who, in addition to hearing these three political actors, will also ask for a fourth person to be heard: “The PAN will request the hearing of Maria Luís Albuquerque, Miguel Pinto Luz, Sérgio Monteiro and the president of Parpública. Now it is up to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as quickly as possible, to investigate this case and ensure that this ruinous business is held accountable.”

These two parties are joined by the Left Bloc, whose party leader maintains that “when a private company steals from a public company as Neeleman did, it is stealing from the country.” Mariana Mortágua later accused María Luís Albuquerque and Miguel Pinto Luz of being accomplices in this crime, for which she said that the Bloc will call them “to Parliament to assume their responsibility.”

But things don’t end there: the Bloc “will propose a debate in the permanent commission of the TAP with the presence of Miguel Pinto Luz.” Mortágua also demanded that Luís Montenegro speak about the case and decide what to do with this “toxic asset of the Government.” “A minister who was involved in a ruinous business cannot be involved in TAP today,” highlighted several times.

Still on the left, the PCP will also propose to broaden the scope of the hearing of Maria Luis Albuquerque on the privatisation of ANA, scheduled for 11 September, and also wants to hear the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, in parliament. According to the leader of the communist parliamentary group, Paula Santos, the party “will confront PS, PSD, IL and Chega with a legislative initiative that puts on the table stopping the privatisation of TAP but guaranteeing the public management of TAP.”

Chega also wants to hear from those responsible for the report

At the other end of the political spectrum, Chega joins the critical voices and maintains that “public accounts must be clear”. The parliamentary leader, Pedro Pinto, accuses the President of the Government of “being complicit” in this bad agreement because “when he appointed Miguel Pinto Luz he knew who he was appointing”. The party will also summon María Luís Albuquerque to Parliament. And so will the IGF auditors who prepared the report known this Monday. The party will not go ahead with a request to hear the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, but guarantees that “it will surely vote in favour”.

IL wants to know when and how the airline will be privatized

The Liberal Initiative wants to know when and how the PSD/CDS-PP government will privatise TAP and pointed out to the Prime Minister the need for possible political consequences following the publication of the report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF).

“When will TAP be privatized? How will it be privatized? How will the taxpayers’ right to money be protected? These are the issues that matter,” said Liberal deputy Rodrigo Saraiva, in front of journalists at the Assembly of the Republic.

The Liberals believe that this report leaves “questions unanswered”, such as whether taxpayers will receive part of the money they lost due to TAP’s bad business dealings. “It is important to talk about taxpayers’ money. When will TAP’s money return to the country?” asked the leader of the parliamentary group, Rodrigo Saraiva.

PS challenges Montenegro to say “political confidence is maintained” in Pinto Luz

The state’s intervention in TAP “was necessary” because of the pandemic, the leader of the socialist parliamentary group, Alexandra Leitão, begins by arguing. This “will happen in mid-2020.” There, “the government met Neeleman in the company’s shareholding structure,” who opposed this intervention, so it was necessary to negotiate his exit.

“In 2022, TAP reaches conclusions similar to those of the IGF” in a report on the company itself and when the PS receives this document it quickly sends it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. And “here we have arrived”, with “a new fact”: “We have an entity, the IGF, that corroborates and confirms these suspicions”. And we have a minister, “the same person who led this process, being the same person who today leads a TAP privatization process”.

Refusing to say whether Miguel Pinto Luz is capable or not of continuing to govern, the socialists only demand that “the President of the Government come and say whether he maintains political confidence in Miguel Pinto Luz to continue leading the process.”