PSD President Luis Montenegro, who was appointed Prime Minister by the President of the Republic early this morning, will take part this Thursday in the meeting of the European People’s Party (PPP), which precedes the summit of European leaders.
A meeting of the PPE in Brussels, the European political group to which the PSD and CDS-PP belong, is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. local time (10 a.m. in Lisbon), but before that, Luis Montenegro will be received by the president of the European Party. The commission, Ursula von der Leyen, a party source told Lusa on Wednesday.
Luis Montenegro’s first act as Prime Minister-designate coincides with António Costa’s last participation as Prime Minister in the European Council meeting, which begins this Thursday afternoon.
On Tuesday, after a meeting with the community’s chief executive, António Costa said the change of government would in no way change the country’s compliance with the European Union project.
In principle, Luis Montenegro will participate as Prime Minister in the next meeting of the European Council, scheduled for April 17 and 18.
Luis Montenegro, former parliamentary leader of the PSD during the Troika era, will become the next prime minister after the AD won early legislative elections on the 10th.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on Wednesday evening appointed Luis Montenegro as Prime Minister.
The 19th PSD president will take over the government – nine years after the party left power in 2015 – with no managerial experience, although he has already publicly stated that he has refused government positions three times (with Santana Lopez and two with Passos Coelho) for family reasons.
Luis Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves, 51, was born in Porto but has always lived in Espinho (Aveiro) and is a lawyer by profession.