Ventura announced that the inquiry into Luís Neves's mandates at the Polícia Judiciária will have a restricted room in Parliament for sensitive and confidential files, modelled on the TAP inquiry.
The commission decides on Tuesday, 27 October whether to pause its work during the 2027 State Budget debate, and any suspension would still need a plenary vote, possibly on Wednesday, 28 October.
Ventura says information requests, witness lists and hearing requests will go ahead even if work is suspended, with the final global vote set for 24 November.
André Ventura, the Chega leader who chairs the commission, announced on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 that the inquiry into Luís Neves's mandates at the Polícia Judiciária will have a restricted room in Parliament where members can consult sensitive and confidential documents. The announcement followed a first meeting of the commission's board and group coordinators, held behind closed doors to set the working methodology. Ventura said the room would work like the one created for the TAP inquiry, arguing that a mandate at a criminal investigation body calls for this kind of protection.
“It was decided to bring back a restricted room for access to and protection of sensitive and confidential documents.”
Ventura stressed that the room would not keep information from the public, since it would only hold the most sensitive and confidential material. He said the security and access conditions were still being studied and that more technological ways of protecting and recording access could be used. No deadline has yet been set for parties to name the people they want to hear or the documents they want to see.
The commission must decide on Tuesday, 27 October whether to suspend its work during the debate on the State Budget for 2027, which begins that day. If the commission opts for a suspension, the plenary would have to vote on it, possibly on the following day, Wednesday, 28 October. Ventura has said he opposes any suspension, arguing that the legal framework for parliamentary inquiries points against pausing them, even during parliamentary recess. He acknowledged that the commission could still reach a different decision.
Ventura said the inquiry would not come to a full halt even if work were suspended. He listed letters requesting information from the bodies involved, lists of requests to hear witnesses from the parliamentary groups and other preparatory steps. The board and coordinators are due to meet again on Monday, 26 October, and the ordinary meeting falls on Tuesday, 27 October. Ventura has cited the final global vote on 24 November as the date by which the commission should keep working.
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The parliamentary inquiry into Luís Neves's mandates at the Polícia Judiciária will hold sensitive documents in a restricted room in Parliament. Its chair, André Ventura, also said a decision on suspending the inquiry during the 2027 budget debate comes on Tuesday, 27 October.
AI text based on reports by PÚBLICO, Notícias ao Minuto and Diário de Notícias. Published .