PS reintroduced this Tuesday in the Assembly of the Republic the proposal to create a parliamentary subcommittee to monitor military investments under the European SAFE loans, attempting to pressure Chega to support it after abstaining from the vote last year. The initiative was announced by deputy Marcos Perestrello, accompanied by the party coordinator on the Defense committee, Luís Dias, and deputy Patrícia Faro.
In addition to the subcommittee, the socialists will proceed with a resolution project recommending that the Government submit to parliament a multi-annual plan for Defense development and capacity building, including priorities for the modernization of the Armed Forces, the strengthening of the technological and industrial base, and the integration of Portuguese companies in European value chains.
Perestrello harshly criticized the executive, stating that it "wasted the opportunity" to establish a strategic agreement with PS in the Defense area, having given "meager and evasive answers" to the bench's questions. The deputy considered that the case of the three frigates acquired from Italy, at an investment of approximately 3.9 billion euros, is an example of this lack of transparency, accusing the Government of having allocated two-thirds of the total SAFE value (5.8 billion) to a single program without prior debate.
PS holds the executive responsible for all the controversies and considers there is still room to "correct this path" through the approval of the two initiatives presented, hoping that Chega will demonstrate the desire to create an institutionalized and permanent scrutiny mechanism.
