Former finance minister Joao Leao explained on Tuesday that the €55 million paid to David Nieleman to leave TAP was the result of negotiations rather than a formula, citing “much larger sums” were originally requested.
At a hearing Tuesday before a TAP Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, the former finance chief was questioned about the amount paid to the airline’s then-private shareholder, deeming the amount “no longer new” as the government justified it. “transparent and clear” three years ago.
“We understand well what the negotiation process is. The negotiation process is not a formula,” he began with a response to PS MP Vera Braz.
Later, in a reply to PSD MP Hugo Carneiro, João Leão mentioned that there is a “link with highs and lows” in the “bilateral negotiation process”.
“The shareholder began to demand much larger amounts from the state, about 200 million euros (…) Estado “was extremely strict and demanding.”
To Deputy PS, a former government official explained that “entering into such delicate negotiations on a restructuring program in which TAP was the only airline in the situation in which the dispute arose, with a major shareholder in the context of forced nationalization, would significantly weaken the position of the state in an agreement so delicate, as obtaining the approval of the European Commission”.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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