Marcelo has no fundamental objections to the possible full privatization of TAP.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said this Thursday that he has in principle no objection to the possible full privatization of TAP if it is the “best solution” in economic and financial terms and depending on the conditions.

When asked by journalists about this hypothesis, which Prime Minister António Costa acknowledged on Tuesday, the head of state replied that he understood “that this is a hypothesis put forward by the government, that is, that it can lead to total privatization.” .

“I also realized what I’ve said several times: there are more interested parties than I thought, which means this is an interesting business. It’s not just a classic, but there are others. That’s a good sign,” he says. .

Asked if he had any objections to the possible full privatization of TAP, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa replied: “If from the Portuguese point of view this is the best solution from an economic, financial point of view, then this is the best solution.”

“They will say: but the state must have intervention tools. Privatization is possible with intervention tools. Therefore, it depends on the conditions of privatization,” he added.

According to the President of the Republic, “every state takes care to guarantee minimum conditions for monitoring and control,” but he asked the question “is this compatible with full privatization? This may or may not be the case. Let’s see what the conditions are.”

In parliament on Tuesday, the Prime Minister, among various scenarios, put forward the hypothesis of privatizing the entire capital of TAR, despite indicating that the amount has not yet been determined and will depend on the chosen partner.

“We are not looking to sell out to any private party. We will privatize and sell only part or all of the capital, taking into account the protection of the interests of the company, Portugal and the Portuguese,” António Costa said in a statement. response to the Bloc de Esquerda during the debate on the motion of no confidence in the government represented by the Chega party.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to reporters at a Portuguese canned goods store that recently opened in Times Square, which he called “an example of what Portugal has been for many years, which is risk-taking.”

The head of state arrived in the United States on Sunday evening to participate in the general debate of the 78th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly and will return to Portugal on Friday evening.