The European Commission said this Friday that the conditions stipulated in the TAP restructuring plan for state aid of 2.550 million euros “apply regardless of the airline’s shareholder structure.”
“As enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, when applying competition rules, the Commission is neutral with regard to the ownership of companies. The Commission does not distinguish between public and private property and therefore the terms included in the 2021 Commission decision. , including those related to the restructuring plan, apply regardless of the ownership structure,” an official source responsible for competition in the municipality told Luse.
In response to Lusa’s question about the announcement made by the Portuguese boss on Thursday to sell at least 51% of the capital of the flagship airline, an official European Commission source assures that the institution “continues to regularly monitor the correct implementation of its decision.” and restructuring plan” as originally planned.
The community leader is still “in contact with the Portuguese authorities in this context,” the spokesperson said.
“We cannot comment further on the content of these contacts,” he adds.
On Thursday, the government approved a diploma setting out the terms of TAR’s privatization and announced its intention to sell at least 51% of TAR’s capital, leaving up to 5% for workers.
It is also planned that by the end of the year or at the latest in early 2024, the TAR privatization specifications will be approved by the Council of Ministers.
At a time when interested parties are beginning to emerge in the purchase of the airline, which returned to state control in 2020, this document defining the conditions for the privatization of TAP will have to be made public by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo. de Souza, who had already approved the sale.
Last week in Parliament, Prime Minister António Costa, among various scenarios, put forward the hypothesis of privatizing the entire capital of TAP, despite the fact that the amount has not yet been determined and that it will depend on the chosen partner.
TAP made a profit of €65.6 million in 2022, returning to positive results after losses of €1,600 million in 2021 and ahead of schedule in its restructuring plan.
This concerns the approval by the European Commission on December 21, 2021 of the TAP restructuring plan and state aid of 2.550 million euros, allowing the group to return to viability, while committing itself to do so without harming European competition. .
Among the remedies imposed by Brussels to approve the restructuring plan are an obligation for the airline to provide up to 18 “slots” per day at Lisbon airport, a division of operations between TAP Air Portugal and Portugália, and the sale of non-core assets. for example, branches of related maintenance and restoration work, as well as ground handling.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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