As an immediate initiative, the Socialist Party (PS) will call the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, to parliament to clarify the direction he intends to take for Lusa, particularly regarding the new institutional governance model for the news agency.
Eurico Brilhante Dias recalled that the process of acquiring Lusa’s private shares was initiated during the PS governments and argued that an institutional organization model was in place to ensure the plurality and scrutiny of Lusa’s activities.
“Both Minister Pedro Adão e Silva and Minister Pedro Duarte, already under the AD government, viewed plurality as involving an institutional framework where different actors could participate in choosing the Board of Directors and scrutinizing its activities,” he emphasized.
Considering Lusa “an essential pillar for delivering news to the Portuguese,” the PS parliamentary leader expressed strong doubts about continuing this path under the current administration and the supervision of Minister Leitão Amaro.
When asked about specific doubts regarding Lusa’s future model, Brilhante Dias reiterated concerns about “the danger of governmentalization.”
“All models considered so far by different political actors included a robust oversight council or an independent general council, similar to RTP, which would participate in selection, choice, and have binding partners to ensure Lusa’s management was a space of plurality and guarantee of that plurality. It seems that today, this model is at risk,” he detailed.
The PS stated it is awaiting Leitão Amaro’s explanations in parliament but assured it will oppose any process of governmentalizing Lusa.
At the end of November, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, met with Lusa’s bodies and the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) regarding the new governance model for the news agency. He argued it aimed to “streamline the company’s action capacity, ensure editorial independence, and support the agency’s high professional standards.”
The proposed changes by the executive include a Board of Directors with three executive members with four-year terms, streamlining of corporate oversight with a single auditor, and parliamentary scrutiny with Lusa’s obligation to share information with parliament and ensured availability of the Board of Directors and Editorial Management for regular parliamentary hearings.
Additionally, a Consultative Council is to be established, “composed of various sectors and quadrants, including parliament (three members), infranational public territorial entities (Azores Autonomous Region, Madeira Autonomous Region, National Association of Portuguese Municipalities), Lusa employees (two), and associations representing media organizations (five),” according to the communiqué.
This Consultative Council will have “functions to monitor Lusa’s activities, ensure compliance with the public service contract and quality standards, and protect Lusa’s independence from political, economic, social, and sports powers.”
The new governance model for Lusa follows the completion of the process consolidating the entire share capital of the agency under the state.
