The Minister for Economic Affairs today argued in Lisbon that Galp’s decision to end negotiations with Moeve “is sovereign”, but ensured that the government fulfilled its role.
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29/10/2026
by
Lusa
O minister of Economics today in Lisbon argued that Galp’s decision to end negotiations with Moeve “is sovereign”, but ensured that the government fulfilled its role.
On Monday, Galp announced the end of negotiations with Moeve for a possible combination of the fuel refining and marketing business because no agreement was reached between the parties.
“This government absolutely respects private initiative and freedom of initiative, but we also believe, with the same conviction, that the sovereignty of a country has to be considered alongside these values. The government believes that it is possible to reconcile both rights and duties”, said the Minister of Economics and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, in response to the deputies, in the Assembly of the Republic.
The Minister, who spoke at a hearing in the context of the discussion of the State Budget for 2027 (OE2027), stressed that the government's intervention in the process was to reconcile these two values.
“A [Sines] refinery that is unique in Portugal has a strategic value beyond the rights of free initiative. What I can say is that the government has fulfilled its role, as it could not be otherwise,” he said.
However, he said that Galp’s decision not to do business with Moeve “is sovereign” and alien to the government.
Also on Monday, Galp told Lusa that negotiations with Moeve took place “without dissonance”, but commercial decisions did not allow a positive outcome.
“ Since then it was not a sale, but a combination and therefore had an additional complexity. Throughout the process we were recording a good alignment and confirmation regarding the value of our asset ", said at the time the executive co-president of Galp Maria João Carioca, in statements to Lusa.
Despite ensuring that the process took place “without dissonance” and with a “good alignment”, Maria João Carioca said it was not possible to close the transaction due to commercial conditions, namely “it was not possible to capture value” according to Galp’s criteria.