1. The Council of Ministers today adopted a new Decree-Law for the privatisation of TAP, going ahead with the fourth attempt at privatising TAP, confirming the PS's enslavement to the interests of big capital and its submission to the impositions of the European Union (which has long outlined the objective of liquidating TAP).

A decision that is taken in line with what PSD, CDS, Chega and IL have been defending and which is part of a path of national surrender, with dozens of privatisations that leave the country poorer and more dependent.

2. The PCP reaffirms that the privatisation of TAP is a crime against the country, against the country's economy, against national sovereignty.

TAP is one of the largest national companies. It is the largest national exporter of services, with sales exceeding three billion euros per year. Creates quality jobs with above-average wages. It is an essential lever for national tourism. In the last 10 years, it has paid contributions to Social Security totalling 1.4 billion euros, and handed over another 1.2 billion euros to the Portuguese State in Personal Income Tax (IRS). Also noteworthy, in the international context, is the fact that it is the main European company with connections to Brazil and some countries on the African continent.

Today TAP is capitalised, making profits and generating great wealth for the country, being one of the most important partners of the largest airline alliance in the world – Star Alliance. Those who spent more than 20 years saying that TAP was either privatised or would disappear, that it needed to be privatised to be capitalised, that it needed to be privatised to have strategic partnerships, today they have no arguments to justify this crime, but they remain committed to handing over TAP to big capital.

Contrary to the falsifications and demagoguery that we have seen in recent months, aiming to facilitate the privatisation of TAP, the PS government and the parties to its right want to hand over this airline to a multinational, not because TAP is worth little or is a burden to the country, but yes, because TAP is worth a lot today and could be worth even more in the future.

3. The PCP recalls that all other previous TAP privatisation processes almost led to its destruction and caused great losses to the country. The PCP recalls that TAP was purchased with money from TAP itself, an option that cannot be discarded in the process that was announced today.

Privatising TAP is not a guarantee of the future, on the contrary. Privatising TAP is the path to destroying one of the last instruments of national sovereignty.

But, as life has shown over the years, the PCP considers that this is not a closed issue. The defence of national interests, the defence of a public TAP at the service of the People and the Country mobilises and will mobilise many of the company's workers, many democrats and patriots who do not accept seeing their country sold at a bargain.

On the part of the PCP, we are committed to, together with the struggle of workers in the sector, doing everything to prevent a new crime against the national interests and the economy.

As of now, in the Assembly of the Republic, the PCP’s Parliamentary Group will promote an urgent hearing of the Minister of Infrastructures in the Parliamentary Committee, on this same matter.