The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that the Portuguese government’s support for António Costa as part of a global preliminary agreement on the European Union’s top positions was done “with the interests of Europe above all else in mind.”
During the preparatory debates for the European Council on Thursday and Friday, Luís Montenegro recalled that on June 9 (the night of the European elections) he announced that the Portuguese government would support the candidacy of António Costa for the presidency of the European Council, if implemented within the framework of an agreement between the largest political families in the European Parliament.
“In government, we have taken this position taking into account the interests of the Portuguese state, but above all the interests of Europe, what solutions and the best balances can be best so that we can be effective in the work of the European institutions in the coming years,” he defended.
The European summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels will be at the center of discussions on the leadership positions of the EU institutions in the next institutional cycle (2024-2029) after the European elections, with preliminary political approval already in place between the centre-right, socialists and liberals – former Portuguese Prime Minister António Košta for her leadership of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen for a second term in the European Commission and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, head of public diplomacy.
“As the provisional agreement announced is still expected to continue, we are confident that António Costa’s candidacy for the presidency of the European Council will be confirmed tomorrow,” Montenegro said.
At a meeting of the European Council in the next two days, the Prime Minister said he expects measures to support Ukraine to be strengthened.
“We in Europe will not tire of using all mechanisms to guarantee political, economic, military and humanitarian support for Ukraine,” he assured.
At the summit, he added, Europe is also expected to discuss increasing investment in security and defense, as well as developing economic competitiveness policies.
“Unfortunately, in recent years it has been impossible not to complete the creation of the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union – fundamental tools for diversifying the financing of companies,” he said.
Regarding another item on the European Council’s agenda, the Strategic Program 2024-2029, Montenegro said it hopes it can “emerge stronger” from this summit to increase the EU economic prosperity it guarantees and the “European way of life.” “…
“In many cases we have downplayed the importance of public policies at the level of individual Member States and the European Union for people’s quality of life. If we compare this with what is happening in other regions and other commercial blocs, it remains clear that being Portuguese and European is a privilege,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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