António Costa considered this Friday, at his last meeting of the European Council as Prime Minister, that the European Union (EU) “could have done more” and said he hoped that in the future its voice would continue to be heard.
“Europe could have done much more, certainly it could have done much more, but the truth is that we managed to manage the migration crisis in 2015, Covid-19, face the war, the energy crisis and, at the same time, We have relaunched ourselves in two transitions that are enormous challenges for our societies”, maintained the outgoing Prime Minister, at a press conference in Brussels.
António Costa considered that the EU will face “constant and permanent challenges”, arising, for example, from climate change, “in agriculture, in the automotive industry, in various sectors of activity”, and recognized that the European Union must find “mechanisms to be able to respond”.
“We didn’t achieve everything, I think the need for the eurozone’s own budgetary capacity was necessary and continues to be. The truth is that in the first version of the multiannual financial framework there was no specific mechanism for the euro zone, but there was an embryo of what could become a joint investment capacity,” he added. “We cannot give up on the ambition we set for ourselves. capable of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050”, he added.
Asked if he has the desire to continue to be an active voice in European politics, António Costa began by ironizing: “I hope to overcome my hoarseness so that my voice can continue to be heard and be clear.” Faced with journalists’ insistence on the issue, the resigning prime minister clarified that he hopes that his voice, in the future, can be “heard clearly” at national and international level: “Yes, everywhere, it will not be opposition does not mean that I am a silent voice, I don’t have to be the voice of the opposition, it has to be my voice”.
Don’t do to others what you didn’t like being done to you
António Costa also defended that it is the “duty of any prime minister” to convey confidence in the country in an international context and that he would never do “the opposite”, recalling that, in the past, “others did not do so” when he took office.
“The duty of each prime minister on the international scene is to convey the confidence that everyone must maintain in our country and in those whom the Portuguese democratically chose to govern, I think this is the duty of any Government”, said the resigning Prime Minister.
“I would never pass [pela cabeça] do the opposite and in particular conditions and with ease of being able to do so [transmitir confiança em Portugal]I would always do it, but I also do it not forgetting that others didn’t do it when I took office and I know very well what that cost for the country, what it cost for government action”, he added.
At the beginning of the press conference, António Costa recalled that when he took office eight years ago, there was “a lot of skepticism about the possibility” of the PS Government being able to “comply with European rules within the framework of the parliamentary alliance” with BE, PCP and PEV and the “economic policy framework” he had defined. “I would never do to others what I didn’t like being done to me.”concluded the outgoing prime minister.
The outgoing prime minister also said that he leaves the European Council, after eight years, “with pride” for Portugal’s budgetary evolution and its political stability, highlighting the “complimentary words” he heard at this last meeting.
“No regrets. I must confess, with some modesty, that I even leave with some pridetrying to remember how it all started eight years ago, with a lot of skepticism about the possibility of us being able to comply with European rules” to continue “the priority” of being able to “turn the page on austerity”, declared António Costa.
The Prime Minister recalled that, after the country exited the excessive deficit procedure in 2017, it managed to end 2023 “with a positive budget balance” and already “away from the podium of the three most indebted countries”. “It is a trajectory that the country can follow calmly towards the measures that have been established and within the calendar that has been established”, he noted.
António Costa also said that he sees “with some pride” the fact that Portugal has been, “over these eight years, one of the most stable countries” in political terms. “Few of my colleagues remain on the Council [Europeu]”, said the outgoing prime minister.
In an allusion to the “good relations” that Portugal has had with the heads of Government and States of the other Member States, António Costa added that the country was “always part of the solution and never part of the problem”.
On Thursday, on the first day of the European Council, a farewell video was broadcast to António Costa, who was also given a statuette depicting the European Council’s headquarters building.
“The ceremony was the same for the three prime ministers”, the Portuguese, but also the Bulgarian and Irish, who this Friday also participated in their last European Council.
António Costa also highlighted the “nice and complimentary words” he heard from the President of the European Council, Charles Michel during that occasion.
A source from the European Council told Lusa that António Costa was given “a commemorative gift”, an “artistic impression of the Europa building, the emblematic headquarters” of the institution. The sculpture work is by Maxim Duterre, a young industrial designer and artist born in Brussels.
Also on Thursday, Charles Michel thanked the outgoing Prime Minister, António Costa, on the social network representation of Portugal.
In the role of Prime Minister since November 2015, António Costa has been, since then and until today, Portugal’s representative on the European Council, one of the most experienced among his EU counterparts.
