The CDS-PP has announced that it will request an urgent parliamentary hearing today with the governor of the Bank of Portugal to provide explanations on the operations conducted for acquiring the institution’s new headquarters.
An online report indicated that on May 2, nearing the end of his first term as governor of the Bank of Portugal (BdP), Mário Centeno, with the support of his administration, signed a preliminary agreement with four companies from the Fidelidade Group for constructing the central bank’s new headquarters on the former Feira Popular grounds in Lisbon.
According to the report, the legal and technical assessments commissioned by the BdP highlighted 16 serious contingencies that could jeopardize the deal, which is set to be finalized at the end of 2027.
Following the report, the press office of the CDS-PP parliamentary group announced that the party “will submit today to the Assembly of the Republic a request for an urgent hearing of the governor of the Bank of Portugal, Mário Centeno, before the Committee on Budget and Finance to explain these operations.”
Mário Centeno’s first term as governor of the Bank of Portugal concluded on Sunday, and the former finance minister has expressed willingness to continue for another term at the helm of the central bank.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro stated that the government would announce its decision on this matter after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“Next week we will take this position and, therefore, at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, we will announce our position,” he said in Madeira.
The governor’s appointment is made by the government but must undergo a hearing in the Assembly of the Republic.
Parliamentary committees will operate only until next Friday, July 25, unless there is consensus among all parties, with parliamentary activities resuming in September.
