Cega President André Ventura insisted this Friday that the election of António Costa as President of the European Council is a “bad choice for Europe,” arguing that the former prime minister has the “wrong vision” in several areas.
“We understand and continue to understand that this is a bad choice for Europe, it is a bad choice for the world and we cannot understand how, if Antonio Costa was a bad choice for Portugal, if he was a bad choice for Portugal, Portugal can become a good option for Europe and, as President of the European Council, for the whole world,” he said.
André Ventura spoke to reporters at the Assembly of the Republic after the former Portuguese prime minister was elected President of the European Council by the heads of state and government of the European Union on Thursday evening.
The Chegi leader said that “politically this is a bad day for Europe.”
“I won’t stop saying this just because Antonio Costa is Portuguese. Europe with Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen will be even worse than it was before,” he defended himself.
“António Costa has the wrong vision of the fight against corruption, security, justice and diplomatic policy,” he criticized.
The Chegi leader said he could not be “further from what António Costa thinks the European project should be” and said he would prefer to see “someone who has the right ideas” chosen.
Ventura accused Costa of being “a disaster at the military level in Portugal” and that at the diplomatic level “he was close to the worst examples in the world.”
Andre Ventura also considered it “nonsense that the anti-socialist parties this Friday could support, as in the case of the liberals and social democrats, António Costa in the European Council” when “they went around for eight years saying that this is terrible.” First Minister, failure of governance.”
However, the Chega leader congratulated the former Socialist prime minister on his election “personally, not politically” and wished him success in his role “because this is a victory for him.”
President Cegi believes that when it comes to “exercising important political functions, as in the case of the President of the European Council, there is much more at stake than a person or his party colour, it is the politics that protects.”
Former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa was elected on Thursday evening by the heads of state and government of the European Union (EU) as President of the European Council for a two-and-a-half-year term, taking office on 1 December 2024.
At the European Council, EU leaders also nominated Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission and appointed Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Both options must be put to a vote in the European Parliament.
António Costa will become the first Portuguese and the first socialist to head the European Council.
Despite the prime minister’s resignation in 2023 following judicial investigations, Costa was chosen to succeed Belgian Charles Michel (in office since 2019) at the helm of the European Council, which brings together the heads of government and state of the European Union.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.