According to ECO, Luís Montenegro reiterated his support for António Costa's candidacy for the presidency of the European Council, stressing that the former prime minister is “the best socialist of those who are able to be candidates” for that institution in Brussels. And “not only” because he is Portuguese.

“It is because of his experience because he was a member of the Government on four different occasions and president of the largest city council in the country”, that of Lisbon.

“ I am very comfortable because I sat down to fight the first Costa Government”, stated the Prime Minister during the fortnightly debate in the Assembly of the Republic, then throwing a barb at Chega, who, as a habit, interrupts interventions in remaining benches: “Others were either not yet in politics or were behind me with a flag supporting what I said”.

Luís Montenegro called on the socialist bench in the European Parliament, of which the PS is a part, to support Ursula von der Leyen's second term as president of the European Commission. Despite the opposition between the two political families, there are convergences. “This is not the political business,” he says. “This is convergence and the creation of a political consensus for a political project.”

The German candidate for the European People's Party (a family of PSD and CDS) needs not only the support of a majority of the 27 member states but also 361 votes in the European Parliament to be re-elected, and for this reason, the help of the socialists will be necessary. This has not yet been formalized, since, during the election campaign, von der Leyen showed herself willing to negotiate with the radical right group in the European Parliament, something that did not please the socialists.

The result of the election will be announced on 16 July, when the European Parliament will also elect its President and Vice-President. The 720 MEPs will be sworn in during the same parliamentary session. António Costa's appointment as President of the European Council is expected to be announced at the two-day meeting in Brussels, which begins today.