Luís Montenegro spoke after delivering an address at the opening session of the “Capital Markets Day” conference at Culturgest in Lisbon.
When questioned by journalists about the possibility of former Governor of the Bank of Portugal and Socialist Finance Minister Mário Centeno being chosen as Vice-President of the ECB, the executive leader replied:
“What I can say is that we will engage in this process with a great sense of responsibility to ensure good solutions at the European level and also, naturally, good representation for Portugal,” he stated.
Asked directly if Mário Centeno is a good solution for ECB Vice-President, Luís Montenegro considered this not to be the moment for a “direct mention” of candidates.
“Once the process is open, we will participate with special commitment and a sense of responsibility, aiming to achieve good representation,” he reiterated.
When confronted about whether the Portuguese Government would repeat in this ECB case the decision it made when supporting the former Prime Minister, António Costa, for the position of President of the European Council, Luís Montenegro agreed.
“Certainly, it will always be with the intention of safeguarding the best possible position for Portugal,” he confirmed.
Prior to these remarks by Luís Montenegro, the Finance Minister stated that the Government “always looks with satisfaction” when a Portuguese candidate runs for a high European position, when asked about Mário Centeno’s potential candidacy for ECB Vice-President.
“The Government, naturally, as always— and as happened, for example, with Dr. António Costa [former Prime Minister, now President of the European Council] recently— always looks with satisfaction when a Portuguese can achieve an international position,” Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said in Brussels.
