Portugal's prime minister, socialist António Costa, has announced he is resigning following a corruption scandal that led to charges against one of his ministers and his chief of staff, AFP reports.
"The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any doubts about my integrity. Under these circumstances, I have submitted my resignation to the President of the Republic," conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, he told the media.
It is now up to the Head of State to decide whether to accept it. "The future will depend on the president's decisions," added António Costa, one of the few socialists to have headed a European government.
According to prosecutors, the affair, which casts a shadow over the Portuguese prime minister, involves suspicions of "embezzlement, active and passive corruption of political officials and influence peddling" in connection with the granting of licences for lithium exploration and hydrogen production.
In the course of the investigation, "the name and authority of the prime minister were also mentioned by the suspects," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
According to the prosecutor's office, António Costa, who is suspected of being involved to "unblock procedures" in this case, will be "investigated" independently.
Speaking to the press, Costa said he was "surprised" by the opening of this investigation.
Specifically, investigators are looking into the granting of licenses for "lithium mine exploration" in northern Portugal, a "hydrogen power generation project" and a "data centre construction project for the company's Start Campus" in Sines, about 100 km south of Lisbon.
The Prime Minister's official residence, several homes, ministries and law offices were searched.
In view of the evidence gathered by investigators and the "risk of concealment and continuation of criminal activity", the courts issued "arrest warrants" for Costa's chief of staff, the mayor of Sines and two Start Campus directors.
Charges have also been brought against Portugal's Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, and the chairman of the board of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency (APA).
In early September, the APA announced that it had given the green light, subject to conditions, to a second project in the country to mine lithium, a metal used in battery production and essential to the energy transition.
Portugal, which has the largest lithium reserves in Europe, is already the country's main producer, but for the moment its output is used entirely for ceramics and glass.
An initial lithium mine project also received conditional approval from the APA last May.
These mining projects are being challenged by environmental NGOs and some of the local population in this rural area.
After his landslide election victory on 30 January 2022, which gave him an absolute majority that was supposed to guarantee the stability of his government, Costa's popularity has plummeted in the wake of a series of scandals.
One of the most significant was 'TAPgate', named after the state-owned airline. More than a dozen ministers and secretaries of state have already left their posts over this affair.
The scandal erupted almost a year ago following revelations that a TAP director had been paid EUR 500 000 in compensation. She then took charge of the air traffic control company and, a few months later, became Secretary of State at the Ministry of Finance. / BGNES
