The President of the Assembly of the Republic argues that parliamentary practice must be respected that there are only two ongoing committees of inquiry, at the same time, as is the case today, and that there will soon be four.
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05/10/2026
by
Lusa
ANDthis position was taken by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco in statements to journalists, after symbolically opening the main door of Parliament to citizens to mark the 116 anniversary of the implementation of the Republic in Portugal, when he said that he will take this issue of the limit number of committees of inquiry in operation at the same time as the next conference of leaders on Wednesday.
At the moment, two parliamentary committees of inquiry on the INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergency) and forest fires are being completed. At the beginning of this legislative session, Parliament approved the creation of a third commission of inquiry proposed by the Left Block on national examinations and the Aquida advanced in a potent way with another inquiry, the fourth one, on the performance of the current Minister Luís Neves as national director of the PJ.
In the face of journalists, the President of the Assembly of the Republic admitted that, strictly on a regular basis, it is possible for Parliament to have four parliamentary committees of inquiry operating simultaneously.
“ But there has been a practice of no more than two so that all Members can participate. Let us not forget that there are parliamentary groups that do not have many Members. And to be able to participate in the various committees there have been no more than two at the same time,” he said.
José Pedro Aguiar-Branco said that he will ask this question at the next meeting of the conference of leaders.
“ The conference of leaders is sovereign, it has an obligation to do so, because this has been practice. But then the Members decide,” he observed.
Asked about which two parliamentary committees of inquiry should be fully operational, the President of the Assembly of the Republic replied: “I have no preference.”.
“ My competence, and I think it has been very clear in recent times, is to ensure that parliamentary committees of inquiry respect the Constitution and respect the law that regulates it. That's the point of my decisions. Since they are all [the four] constituted, now the management of the agenda is up to you,” he stressed.