The former CEO of Globalia Javier Hidalgo has assured in the Senate that he only met with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, at an event with more businessmen and has ruled out that there was favored treatment in the public aid that Air Europa received in pandemicbecause it was “the worst loan, with the strictest and most unfavorable conditions of those granted in Europe.”
This was expressed this Friday when appearing at the commission of inquiry into all the ramifications of the ‘Koldo case’, in which has refused to respond to the groups’ questions and has limited himself to presenting some “clarifications” before offering the senators documentation on the matter that he has brought in some folders.
“It is false that I met with Pedro Sánchez, except for the one we had with 25 businessmen,” said Hidalgo, who also pointed out that it is “false” that he stated before the judge of the National Court, where he has already testified as a witness, that he did not remember having met with the wife of the President of the Government, Begoña Gómez, “since that was not the question asked.”
Hidalgo has indicated that “the question formulated in a tortuous manner” in that statement “was whether he remembered who he was with on June 24, 2020.” I don’t know if you, ladies and gentlemen, remember what anyone did four years ago, I don’t think anyone does, not even last week,” he stated.
Regarding the Government’s help to the airline at the end of 2020 due to the pandemic, Hidalgo wanted to specify that “the operation with SEPI was not a rescue”, but rather “a loan with the strictest and most unfavorable conditions of those granted in Europe.
«And it was one of the last airlines of our level to receive aid. As of June 29 of that year, “29 billion euros had already been granted in Europe and Globalia, very significant, with 10,000 employees, 17 airports, 35 hotels and 500 points of sale, received zero euros,” he mentioned.
The former CEO of Globalia, owner of the airline, has criticized that they had «the worst of the loans granted». “Air Europa was seriously harmed, you will tell me what favorable treatment we have received, except being disadvantaged in absolutely everything,” he maintained.
He added that this loan was authorized by seven technical departments of the SEPI, attached to the Ministry of Finance, by PwC and Cuatrecasas, “meeting the requirements established by the European Commission” and “with added demandssuch as the takeover of the company by SEPI. «To my knowledge, no company, nor anyone in this country, is asked for guarantees of this type. “I don’t know where the favorable treatment that you are seeing is,” he insisted.
Furthermore, he has denied having been “on the run” and explained that Globalia sent a letter to the PP “offering all kinds of clarifications about these circumstances, without having received a response until now.”
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