Minister of the Presidency rules out merger between Lusa and RTP and says new statutes reduce government control

The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, dismissed any possibility of a merger between the news agency Lusa and the public broadcaster RTP on Thursday, March 12. He argued that the new statutes reduce government influence and questioned why the Socialist Party (PS) never established an Independent General Council during their time in power. Leitão Amaro defended the changes, stating they increase transparency and limit executive power, while also announcing plans to strengthen Lusa's capital and revise its public service contract to lower costs for media outlets. Meanwhile, Lusa employees held protests in Lisbon and Porto against the restructuring and the new governance model.