The Prime Minister’s agenda indicated that Montenegro was scheduled to arrive in Brussels today to attend an informal dinner of European Union (EU) leaders with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi at 8:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. Lisbon time) as part of the EU-Egypt summit. However, he canceled his trip, and his attendance at Thursday’s European Council meeting is contingent on the scheduling of funeral ceremonies for the former prime minister and first militant of the PSD, who passed away on Tuesday.
Should Montenegro not attend the EU leaders’ summit, he is expected to delegate Portugal’s representation to another head of state or government official from the 27 member countries, which is customary in such situations.
The Council of Ministers today approved a two-day national mourning decree for the passing of Francisco Pinto Balsemão, to be observed today and Thursday, which has already been enacted by the President of the Republic.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão, former PSD leader, ex-prime minister, and founder of Expresso and SIC, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88.
Balsemão founded the weekly newspaper Expresso in 1973, during the dictatorship, SIC, Portugal’s first private television channel, in 1992, and the media group Impresa.
In 1974, following the April 25 revolution, he co-founded the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), later known as the Social Democratic Party (PSD), with Francisco Sá Carneiro and Magalhães Mota. He led two governments after Sá Carneiro’s death, between 1981 and 1983, and remained a member of the Council of State, an advisory body to the President of the Republic, until his death.
