Azores Parliament rejects proposal to cancel SATA privatization process

The Legislative Assembly of the Azores rejected this Thursday the BE draft resolution that recommended to the regional government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) to annul the current privatization process of SATA Internacional – Azores Airlines.

BE deputy António Lima proposed canceling the privatization process of SATA Azores Airlines “for reasons of protecting public interest”, but this proposal was rejected by a majority: 22 votes against from the PSD, five from Chegi, two from the CDS. – PP, one from PPM and one from IL, as well as votes for PS (22), BU (one) and PAN (one).

Presenting the proposal on the third day of the regular plenary session of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores in Horta, after the regional elections on February 4, António Lima considered that the initiative to privatize the Azores airline “is the wrong decision” and is being contested by workers and businessmen.

“This process cannot move forward because it is a risk. And this is a risk, because SATA Internacional is not just a company, it is one of the very important pillars of our economy,” he said.

He said last week’s warning to the jury could be “very serious” and “this process needs to be stopped and the government has the tools to stop it.”

During the discussion of this issue, representatives of various parliamentary benches were heard.

Socialist parliamentary leader João Castro said the Azores government “must act quickly”: “It must correct this process and this path, because SATA is indeed a very important issue for the Azoreans and the Azores.”

From the same bench, MP Carlos Silva asked the executive for an explanation of the reasons for the dismissal of SATA board chair Teresa Gonçalves this week and noted that it would be good if the regional government “suggested that this process is not going well, and that is not good for the Azoreans.”

Paulo Simões (PSD) asked the PS: “You are talking about this attempt at privatization. What about your two attempts at privatization?”

IL MP Nuno Barata advocated the privatization of Azores Airlines and considered it “very important to continue this process”: “If we don’t sell it, [a companhia aérea] This will place a heavy burden on the pockets of the Azoreans and on the public accounts of the region.”

According to Pedro Neves (PAN), the competition jury requires “caution” and “this is serious”, hence they are “totally against” the way the process is being carried out.

In his statement on the vote, Pedro Pinto (CDS-PP) said the party voted against the BE proposal because it was necessary to have confidence in the jury’s report and the final decision of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM Regional Executive Director. coalition.

Francisco Lima (Chega) also believes that until proven otherwise, it will be important to trust the jury and the final decision of the regional government.

During the debate, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Public Administration of the Azores, Duarte Freitas, clarified that the president of the board of directors of SATA gave personal reasons for this decision and there were no disagreements related to the privatization process.

“Government [Regional] will fulfill what the Portuguese government, on behalf of Portugal, undertook in Brussels. [junto da União Europeia]also respecting the rules of Portuguese law [e] specifications. And in due time it will decide, depending on what the jury says, what the Technical Monitoring Committee will monitor and what the board of directors will also say,” the official said.

And he concluded: “Everything is happening and will happen wisely, without interfering with different times, and also avoiding the legal consequences that may even arise for the region in this regard.”

The Azores Parliament consists of 57 deputies, 23 of whom are from the PSD, another 23 from the PS, five from Chegi, two from the SDS-PP, one from the IL, one from the PAN, one from the Bloc. de Esquerda and one from PPM.