The Ministry of Defense clarified that the SAFE Loan Agreement does not need to be discussed and voted on in the Assembly of the Republic, correcting a previous response sent in error to Expresso. The agreement will be sent to parliament, but only for information purposes, not for approval.
The agreement in question is a mega military loan worth 1.6 billion dollars with the American company SAFE. The issue arose after an official response from the Ministry of Defense indicating that the agreement required discussion and a vote in parliament, which generated controversy.
The executive led by Luís Montenegro maintains the position that the agreement does not require authorization from the assembly, since it falls under the domain of foreign policy and national defense, powers reserved to the Government.
The case comes at a time of political tension, with the Chega party pressing for a referendum on the agreement, while PSD and CDS-PP defend the legality of the process as it is being conducted by the executive.
