The letter in which the European Commission expresses concerns about TAP is not a decision given the ongoing investigation, according to the Portuguese government. The letter dated July 16 and published on Monday on the website of the executive branch of the community is, according to the ministries of Pedro Nono Santos and Joao Liao, a formality.
“The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing make it clear that the letter of the European Commission referred to is the same as that which justified the Commission’s memorandum of last July 16 and that no subsequent position has been taken,” please refer to the statements sent to Jornal de Negócios. “By the way, as I informed the Government on this occasion, through the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing, the dispute is the decision of the European Commission to formally and institutionally follow up on the process of the Restructuring Plan, with the opening of public consultation with the Portuguese authorities and interested third parties.”
Brussels opened two weeks ago An in-depth investigation of the airline’s restructuring planDespite the confirmation of the emergency aid of 1.2 billion euros granted by the Portuguese state. It was in this follow-up that Competition Commissioner Marguerite Vestager sent a letter to the Portuguese authorities.
In 25 pages, the history of the process is indicated and it is explained that the European Commission wants further clarification in order to give the green light to the restructuring plan. “This consultation (based on the official letter now published in the OJEU) will focus on assessing the compatibility of the TAP restructuring aid with the support bases for companies in difficulty, and aiming to make it more robust, that is, from a legal point of view, the solutions that can be found to ensure TAP survival in the future without reliance on public resources”, says the government.
The committee’s memorandum issued at the time also reinforced the intent to pursue “constructive engagement” with the Portuguese authorities with the aim of arriving at a restructuring plan that would ensure the long-term viability of the TAP program. “For its part, the government has reaffirmed and reiterates that it continues to work with the European Commission with its full commitment and readiness to finalize the approval of the TAP restructuring plan,” he adds.
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