IL opposes the nomination of Joao Leana as a candidate for the European Court of Auditors

The Liberal Initiative opposed this Monday the appointment of former Finance Minister João Leão as one of the candidates proposed by the government for the European Court of Auditors (TCE), for “failure to provide sufficient guarantees of independence” towards the executive .

Former finance minister João Leão, former Competition Authority (AdC) president Margarida Matos Rosa and law professor José Renato Gonçalves are the three candidates proposed by the government for the TCE, whose hearings are scheduled for Tuesday. a mandatory requirement before the government chooses one of them.

“IL opposes the possible appointment by the socialist government of João Leão, the former socialist finance minister, because we believe that this does not provide sufficient guarantees of independence from the government,” MP Bernardo Blanco told Agência Lusa.

The MP considered this case to be similar to the appointment of Mario Centeno, also former PS Finance Minister, to the post of Governor of the Bank of Portugal, but this time taking into account the situation in Europe.

Bernardo Blanco warned that if he were appointed to the TCE, João Leão might have to control the European funds of the current and even the previous government of which he was a part.

“It does not seem very right for João Leão to lead former colleagues in the government,” he said, repeating that his name “does not provide sufficient guarantees of independence”, unlike the other two candidates.

At Tuesday’s hearing, the Liberals will promise to address what they see as Joao Leana’s “potential conflicts of interest” and hope the government will heed the warnings.

“We will express our concerns, which will be reflected in the report. The Assembly of the Republic does not veto names, it can only exert public and parliamentary pressure. And the government, depending on the hearings and the work of parliament, can assess whether this is serious enough or not to withdraw the nomination,” he said.

The sending of the names of the three candidates to Parliament and the scheduling of hearings in the relevant committee comes after MEP Carlos Coelho questioned the European Commission in early September about the absence of a Portuguese member from the Court for two years. Court of Auditors after the death of João Figueiredo in 2021.

According to the law, after nominating three people, the executive branch submits their summary to parliament, where the Committee on European Affairs will hold preliminary hearings to assess the competence of each candidate.

Once this process is completed, the government selects one name and passes it on to the European organizations. The elected candidate must still be heard by the European Parliament for consultation, and then the Council will be responsible for appointing him to the position of judge of the European Court of Auditors.

Thus, members of the ECA – the EU’s external auditor – are nominated by each member state and appointed by the Council of the European Union after consultation with the European Parliament (EP).