Speaking to journalists at the end of the National Council meeting, Nuno Melo stated that Ana Miguel Pedro, who will be the third candidate on the AD list, "is one of the people in this party who knows the most about European politics".

"Experienced for 14 years in the European Parliament, Ana Miguel Pedro has handled some of the most important legislative dossiers related, for example, to combating corruption, justice and combating terrorism", indicated the former MEP.

Ana Miguel Pedro is an advisor to the CDS-PP in the European Parliament, having worked with Nuno Melo, who was an MEP until the end of March. She is also a member of the party's National Political Commission.

The president of the CDS-PP also said that Ana Miguel Pedro "is a well-known name in Europe" and highlighted "an advantage for Portugal in what is politics, especially in the institutional plan".

Pointing out that when they arrive at the European Parliament, MEPs have to "meet people, get to know the legislative process, [do] networking", Nuno Melo stressed that the candidate "already has all that".

"Ana Miguel Pedro knows the MEPs, knows the leadership of the EPP [European People's Party], knows the presidency of the EPP, is a highly reputable and respected person, who will not need to do the internship. Arriving in Brussels, she is a safe bet who can immediately start working on behalf of the Democratic Alliance, certainly the CDS, and with great benefit for Portugal", he argued.

And he defended that the country "must value competence and must also give opportunities to younger people, but also very qualified people", stating that "this is a distinctive mark of the CDS".

The CDS-PP also indicated Vasco Weinberg (10th) and José Limão (15th) for the AD list.

The president of the CDS-PP indicated that Vasco Weinberg is currently the party's MEP, having replaced him following the legislative elections, and is "a public figure known for his political commentary on television, mainly on matters related to international politics", and that José Limão "has always worked in European areas".

The choices of the CDS-PP, approved by the National Council with 76 votes in favour and two blank votes, reflect "talent, experience and renewal" and any one of them "could well be the head of the CDS list in European elections", he stressed.

Regarding the head of the AD list, the leader of the CDS-PP said that the journalist and television commentator Sebastião Bugalho "is one of the names more than confirmed by his own merit on the national level, a reference commentator, young, appreciated across the board, far beyond the centre-right political space".

Nuno Melo also considered that "he will be a formidable opponent in all debates" and defended that "a name like Sebastião Bugalho is never a surprise".

The centrist, who is also the Minister of National Defence, stated that the "great difficulty in the political universe of parties like the CDS or the PSD, especially due to the number of extraordinary people they can resort to, is the certainty that these names are very good and there could be several others and that is why I never make the assessment by comparison".

"I do not compare who is with who could be, because I know that in this comparison all these people could, in good truth, at many times, be heads of the list themselves. What interests me is who is there and no one can deny that purpose, the talent, the quality and I anticipate great debates and a very interesting dispute that in the end will bring us, as I wish, I hope, the victory of the Democratic Alliance", he stressed.

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