Portugal Prime Minister António Costa Resigns

Former Prime Minister António Costa 

Prime Minister António Costa quits right away due to financial mismanagement and corruption

Tuesday marked the resignation of Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa, who became involved in a corruption probe concerning the contracting of energy-related projects.

"The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity. In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the president of the Republic," Costa told a press conference after briefly speaking with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa earlier on Tuesday.

Portuguese media earlier on Tuesday said that investigators had looked through Costa's offices and many ministries. Joao Galamba, the minister of infrastructure, was later charged by public prosecutors, and Costa's chief of staff was placed under custody.

According to a statement from public prosecutors, the inquiry looks into claims of "misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling." According to the statement, Costa is the subject of a separate investigation examining claims that he personally intervened to expedite the contracts.

The inquiry includes concessions for lithium mining in the country's north as well as a data center and hydrogen production project that the business Start Campus plans to construct in Sines, a town located roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Lisbon.

Arrest warrants for the mayor of Sines and two executives at Start Campus were also issued, citing the risk of escape and the potential for criminal activities to persist. Additionally charged was the head of the Portuguese Agency for the Protection of the Environment's (APA) executive board.

A lithium mining project was approved by the APA in May. Lithium is a necessary metal for the production of electric batteries.At the beginning of September, approval was granted for a second project. Both a portion of the local populace and environmental organizations are against the projects.

Portugal is the continent's leading producer and possesses the largest lithium reserves in Europe, but all of its current output is used by the glass and ceramics sectors. Prime Minister Costa, a member of Portugal's Socialist Party, took office in late 2015 and was reelected in January 2022. His stature has been on the fall lately due to several controversies involving the national airline TAP.