“Maria Luís Albuquerque has transparency problems,” said Catarina Martins. João Oliveira said that “it is a choice that will surely satisfy the interests of the financial sector.”
On Tuesday, BE and PCP MEPs admitted a conflict of interest for the Portuguese Commissioner in charge of Financial Services due to his work in the private sector, while PS expressed apprehension and IL, Chega, CDS and PSD supported the choice.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday proposed that the portfolio of the Financial Services Union and Savings and Investment be assigned to the Commissioner designated by Portugal, former Finance Minister María Luís Albuquerque, as proposed by her team.
Reacting to the election on the sidelines of the European Parliament plenary session in the French city of Strasbourg, BE MEP Catarina Martins commented that “Maria Luis Albuquerque has transparency problems, conflict of interest and is also involved in the privatization of TAPwhich is now being investigated.”
“Maria Luis Albuquerque, when she was a minister, made the financial system win against the interests of our country and then he went to work for the same companies that benefited from his decisions when he was in charge of the financial system and, now, he left those companies to carry out that protection at European level, which is terrible for Portugal and terrible for Europe,” said Catarina Martins.
For the PCP, João Oliveira noted that “this file, in itself, is not exactly a very reassuring element for the peoples of Europe and, in particular, for workers, pensioners and anyone who sees their living conditions endangered by this cause. options to favour the financial sector”.
“It is a choice that will undoubtedly satisfy the interests of the financial sector, But it will perhaps be more difficult to explain in the European Parliament how far Maria Luis Albuquerque really distances herself from these financial interests,” he concluded, stating that he expected “scrutiny [parlamentar] tight”.
Socialist Marta Temido pointed out that “there are aspects that raise concern and apprehension” about the “political profile” of Maria Luis Albuquerque, specifically because she made progress, as Minister of Finance, with “decisions from the point of view of Portuguese economic and financial policy, even in a specific context, which were undeniably associated with formulas that were not successful.”
Stressing that the “technical assessment to be carried out” by parliamentarians, the PS MEP also spoke of a “substantial portfolio of the interests of the European Union”.
IL MEP João Cotrim de Figueiredo said the choice “makes sense given the professional career of Maria Luís Albuquerque”, who worked in public finance.
“He has sufficient professional training and political instinct. […] to give us some guarantees,” he added, dismissing criticism of possible conflicts of interest.
The Czech parliamentarian António Tânger Corrêa said he recognized “the personal and professional competence […] to play this role.”
However, he stressed: “We believe that the TAP case weakened him. […]. While we will give the benefit of the doubt, we still regret that this situation exists.”
For the CDS, Ana Pedro spoke in a portfolio “of great relevance considering her experience and professional career in the area of finance”, after having served “in one of the most delicate moments of the Portuguese economy”.
Social Democrat Paulo Cunha said this was “good news” for Portugal and Europe.
“We have a Portuguese with good performance credentials. […] in a portfolio that is very relevant for Europe,” he added.
Maria Luís Albuquerque, 57, was Minister of State and Finance during the period in which Portugal was under the financial aid of the ‘troika’, succeeding Vítor Gaspar in July 2013 and remaining until the end of the executive led by Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD/CDS-PP).
Source: Observadora
