The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who hopes to find “the best possible solution” to the situation of TAP, when asked about the possibility of the Government nationalizing the airline after not reaching an agreement with private investors.
“What matters is that at this moment the solution found is the best possible solution, I say possible because the airlines are all in a dramatic situation. The best possible solution for us to continue to have a Portuguese TAP. Portuguese means that Portugal’s interest continues, ”he said, speaking to journalists. “We will wait for the completion. The President of the Republic does not have to comment on a process that is underway with several scenarios and we will see with what final solution ”.
Asked whether letting TAP go bankrupt is not a hypothesis, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was categorical in stating that “it is certainly not a hypothesis that allows Portugal to have a company that safeguards Portuguese interest”.
“Now what matters is to safeguard that TAP serves Portugal and the Portuguese. I hope it is the result of what is being talked about right now, ”he added on the news that the Government is preparing the nationalization of the airline.
The Expresso newspaper said today that the Portuguese State would move towards the nationalization of TAP after the State had not reached an agreement with private shareholders on the conditions for the injection of 1,200 million euros from the State into TAP.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, during a hearing by the parliamentary committee on Economy, Public Works and Housing, reiterated this Tuesday that “TAP is too important for us to drop TAP. Twelve hundred million euros is a lot of money, we have to carefully manage that money, which implies that we are able to leave TAP with a dimension that does not point to a ‘TAPzinha’, leave TAP with greater probabilities of sustainability and of future viability ”.
Pedro Nuno Santos assured that “if the private does not accept the conditions of the State, we will have to nationalize the company. We are not going to give in to the private, nor are we going to drop the company ”.
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