Montenegro summons Council of Ministers and speaks to the country on Saturday

The Prime Minister revealed on Friday an extraordinary Council of Ministers on Saturday, February 29, to discuss the « media case » of his family business to receive a monthly Solverde agreement. After the meeting, Luís Montenegro will speak to the country at 20h00.

Speaking to journalists, the head of government has assured that he will only be « acting as prime minister if there is confidence of the Portuguese » and promised explanations so that « speculation can be dissipated. »

The prime minister acknowledged that the situation « causes apprehension and I will evaluate the entire context. » Saturday, after the meeting with the ministers, I will “communicate to the country my decisions”, stressing that “I do not have to abandon everything my professional life” before being president of the PSD or taking office in government.

In his communication on Friday, Montenegro began by saying that « regarding the company I created and from which I was a partner is a company that provides services … I hope there is no doubt about it. »

« As I said in the Assembly of the Republic, I have no problem that the customers of this company should only be themselves, » he added, hoping that « this could happen in the next few hours or by their initiative or with their authorization. »

The head of government also assured that he never decided “nothing in conflict of interest” either as a prime minister and in public office. « Whenever there is a situation where there is any collision with personal interests I will exempt myself to intervene, » he added.

The Solverde Casinos and Hotels Group, based in Espinho, revealed to the weekly Expresso that pays to the company detained by the wife and children of the Prime Minister, Spinumviva, a monthly agreement of 4,500 euros since July 2021, for “specialized compliance services and definition of procedures in the field of personal data protection”.

The agreement between Spinumviva and Solverde was signed six months after the constitution of the company now detained by the wife and the children of Montenegro in July 2021.

According to Expresso, Luís Montenegro worked for Solverde between 2018 and 2022, representing the group in negotiations with the State that resulted in an extension of the Concession Agreement of Espinho and Algarve Casinos.

This concession agreement comes to an end in December this year and there will be a new negotiation with the state, adds the weekly.