Portuguese PM assures full cooperation with European Council president-elect Costa

Portugal pledges “full collaboration and cooperation” with the European Council president-elect António Costa, said Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro on Monday, stressing that Costa will be “another Portuguese” in a “very important” international position.

Montenegro spoke to journalists before a working lunch with Costa at his official residence in São Bento official residence in Lisbon, four days after his predecessor as Portuguese prime minister was elected president of the European Council.

Speaking to journalists who were not given the floor to ask questions, the current prime minister stressed that Costa had received “overwhelming confidence” from the leaders of the 27 EU member states for a “highly demanding” position.

“On the part of the Portuguese government, the availability for cooperation will be total, knowing that it is neither more nor less than what is expected from the other 26 member states. But it’s important to say loud and clear that the Portuguese government will always have the necessary spirit of cooperation so that the European Council can reach the consensus, the convergences or the majorities needed to move forward with a political project of peace and prosperity,” he stressed.

In terms of the agenda awaiting Costa, Montenegro stressed the implementation of the 2024/2029 strategic agenda, “starting with the objective of a possible enlargement, with major implications in terms of reforming the European institutions”.

The head of the executive also spoke about the negotiations for the next multiannual financial framework with new demands, “knowing that Portugal has its own strategic interests, namely the maintenance of cohesion policy and the country’s participation in new financing processes for joint projects and for leveraging the economies of the member states,” he stressed.

In his statement, the prime minister also said that Portugal had added some items to the strategic agenda, one of which was water policy – “a strategic objective for Portugal”.

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Luís Montenegro stressed that “since the time of António Costa’s government, Portugal has been at the forefront of building cooperation between the member states of the European Union in the pillar” of defence and security.

“This is one of the most tragic conflicts in the world,” he said before assuring that Portugal would seek to deepen its relations with the countries of South America, the United States, Africa, India, Southeast Asia and China.

“These are all relationships that will require the member states, and also the president of the European Council, to intervene in a way that will be greatly appreciated by the choice made,” he added.

Costa will take over as president of the European Council for two and a half years from 1 December, after the current head of the Council, Charles Michel, steps down at the end of November.

Costa led three governments as prime minister between November 2015 and April 2024, the last of which (2022-2024) had an absolute PS majority in parliament. He resigned on 7 November 2023 after the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that he was under investigation as part of Operation Influencer.

On 24 May, at his request, the former socialist prime minister was heard by the public prosecutor’s office at the Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DCIAP), without being officially declared a suspect in the case.

(Pedro Morais Fonseca | Lusa.pt)

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