The privatization of TAP will really move forward. The President of the Republic even showed doubts, but promulgated the government’s decree a few days after being filed in Belém. Luís Montenegro says the process “is of Portugal’s strategic interest”.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro says that after To advance the privatization of TAP, the government will move on to the next phase of the process that aims to “give future the airline”.
“The President of the Republic, based on the clarifications he has obtained, has already promulgated the diploma. Therefore, we will move to the subsequent phase, which is approving the book of charges, which will be a determining element to be able to launch the procedure to receive the proposals that aim to give our airline the future, to give viability and sustainability to an operation that is the strategic interest of Portugal,” says the head of government.
Marcelo promulgated diploma after clarified questions
Now it is for good. After sending to the government a request for clarification, with several doubts about the process of privatization of TAP, the President of the Republic signed the decree-law, considering all the doubts he had placed.
The decree-law with privatization rules arrived this week at the Palace of Belém. After reading the diploma, Marcelo asked on the post office that the future of TAP real estate assets at the current airport and the rules on the new structure of the airline, in a second phase of privatization above 49.9% now planned.
He also asked about the consequences of the insolvency process of the former TAP SGPS. It is concerned with the loan of 177 million euros from Azul to TAP, claimed by David Neeleman’s aviation company, which was the Portuguese airline’s main private shareholder from the privatization in 2015 to the capital increase following the Covid-19 pandemic pandemic.
President vetoed coastal solution
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had already vetoed a TAP privatization decree, shortly before António Costa’s resignation. He claimed, at the time, that the last PS government left several delicate questions that needed to be corrected.
The current government has ensured that these problems are outdated, but the President of the Republic was not convinced and added uncertainties about how the new privatization process is designed.
The executive responded on the next lap of the mail and with the answers about the future, which are not in the decree-law so as not to impair privatization. Marcelo was clarified and promulgated the privatization process, moving away from the scenario of a political veto.
Before knowing the details provided for by the current government for privatization, the President of the Republic had already said that there was no reason not to let the government plan pass.
