The ERC does not envisage objections to the issuance of a favorable opinion to the appointment by the Government of Gonçalo de Almeida Ribeiro as a member of the Independent General Council (CGI) of RTP, in deliberation with two opposing voting declarations.
This information appears in deliberation ERC/2026/53 (opinion) regarding the nomination of Gonçalo Manoel de Vilhena de de Almeida Ribeiro as member of RTP’s CGI, as part of a request for comment, published this Wednesday, February 25, on the regulator’s website.
Under the powers set out in article 14, no. 4, of the RTP Statutes, “there are no objections to the issuance by the ERC Regulatory Council of a favorable opinion to the future appointment by the Government” of Gonçalo de de Almeida Ribeira” as a member of the RTP CGI, reads the deliberation.
This nomination depends on a prior opinion from the Regulatory Entity for Social Communication (ERC), followed by a hearing in the Assembly of the Republic.
Gonçalo de Almeida Ribeiro is appointed to replace Arons de Carvalho, who has been a member of the CGI since the end of 2020, who filed a complaint with the ERC stating that his mandate only ends in November, when he has served six years.
In the deliberation, the ERC says that Arons de Carvalho informed the regulator that he was appointed to the position of member of the Independent General Council of RTP on November 6, 2020, “further claiming that, taking into account that the mandate lasts six years (article 15 of the RTP Statutes), ‘he should only cease his duties within approximately nine months'”.
According to the ERC, Arons de Carvalho understands that “this situation could prevent the pronunciation [da ERC] on the legal requirements applicable to the member to be appointed by the Government in [sua] replacement, which is also the responsibility of ERC to carry out, under the terms of the RTP Statutes”.
The Regulatory Council emphasizes that “taking into account the focus of the exhibition”, this “will be analyzed autonomously, within the competences of the ERC”.
The deliberation has two opposing declarations of vote – from Pedro Correia Gonçalves and Rita Rola – considering that the legally required assumptions for the pronouncement to be made are met, and another, the loser, from Telmo Gonçalves – who considers that the pronouncement requested by the Government to replace Arons de Carvalho “should have been preceded by the analysis of the controversial issue [sobre a queixa de Arons de Carvalho]which, not being previously and clearly remedied by the regulator, harms the continuation of the process of appointing a new member of the CGI with the desired and necessary fairness, transparency and legal certainty”.
At the beginning of February, Lusa questioned the guardianship about the fact that Arons de Carvalho’s term ended in September. At the time, a source from the office of the Minister of the Presidency said that, “under the terms of applicable legislation, the term of office of CGI members corresponds to a full sexennium, starting on January 1st of year x, ending on December 31st of year x+5”.
In other words, “assuming that a member begins his duties at the CGI in September 2020, it should be considered, in order to determine the date of transfer of his mandate, that the beginning coincides with the 1st of January of that year, therefore ending on the 31st of December of the year 2025”, argued the same source.
The CGI, created in 2014, is made up of six members, a president and five members, and its mandate lasts six years.
Of the six elements, two are appointed by the Government, two by the Opinion Council and the remaining two are co-opted by the previous four.
The CGI defines RTP’s guidelines for fulfilling public service obligations, appointing the Board of Directors and the company’s respective strategic project, as well as supervising its pursuit in replacement of guardianship.
The body is currently composed of Ana Margarida Carvalho (president), Alberto Arons de Carvalho, António Granado, Isabel Medina, Isabel Pires de Lima and Vítor Caldeira, according to information available on the website.
On April 19, 2024, the CGI appointed Nicolau Santos and Hugo Graça as members of the RTP Board of Directors until 2026.
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