Lisbon, July 10, 2025 (Lusa) - On Thursday, the PCP, Livre, BE and PAN parties highlighted the start of the TAP reprivatisation process as “a choice that could be improved”, questioning the government’s “haste”, while the JPP acknowledged this path but said it needed more details.

Speaking to journalists in parliament, the parties reacted to the decision taken today by the cabinet to initiate the process of reprivatising TAP, which involves the sale, in the first phase, of 49.9% of the airline’s capital.

On behalf of Livre, MP Jorge Pinto said that this decision “is unexpected and disappointing”, especially since TAP “has been profitable since it became state-owned”.

“Of all the major projects for the country in areas such as infrastructure and mobility, the only one with an announced date – the end of the legislative term – is the privatisation of TAP.”

 “The third crossing over the Tagus and the new airport await scheduling, and the high-speed train likewise awaits a timetable,” he pointed out.

On the other hand, according to Jorge Pinto, the government “is placing itself in a less advantageous negotiating position” in this privatisation process by setting a timetable for the sale of part of the national airline’s capital.

“Why the hurry?” he asked.

Portugal, according to the Livre MP, “has unique conditions in terms of its population, with a large number of emigrants, but also because the national territory includes two archipelagos”.

“And we have a historical connection to countries that were Portuguese colonies. All this justifies the importance of having a national flag carrier, something that Livre has always defended,” added Jorge Pinto.

The secretary-general of the PCP, Paulo Raimundo, questioned “the government’s haste” in implementing this privatisation, describing it as “economic crime”, and arguing that it is an asset “that the state must retain and create conditions for it to play a more active role”.

Journalists asked Raimundo why the state still holds majority control of the airline at this stage, and he replied that he had “already seen this film” with other privatisations.

“From one moment to the next, the state will transfer majority ownership while it still maintains a presence,” he said, adding that the most serious thing is “the decision to privatise TAP”.

The sole MP and coordinator of the BE, Mariana Mortágua, presented three arguments why the party favours maintaining public ownership.

“The first is a political and sovereignty argument: TAP is the only company that remains Portuguese,” she said, giving previous privatisations of EDP, CTT and Galp as examples.

On the other hand, she pointed out that the airline is “one of the most important companies for the Portuguese economy” in terms of its contributions to social security, as well as its exports.

“Finally, the financial argument: TAP is profitable, and we want to avoid a repetition of what happened with Novo Banco,” she said, considering that “there is every reason to reject the privatisation” of the airline.

The sole PAN MP, Inês de Sousa Real, called for “protection for workers” to be guaranteed and argued that in next week’s state of the nation debate, the prime minister should provide “answers about the compensation for this privatisation”.

“We value a thoughtful approach to this privatisation and recommend a public consultation on the privatisation of TAP,” she suggested.

Filipe Sousa, the only JPP deputy elected by Madeira, considered that “when public service falls short, privatisation can be an objective”, but pointed out that it is necessary to know the specifications and more details about the operation.

The MP also defended the need to safeguard certain routes, “especially to and from the autonomous regions and the diaspora”.

SMA/ADB // ADB.

Lusa