On 2 September José Luís Lopes da Mota, President of the Eurojust, presented Eurojust annual report to the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Nuno Melo MEP took the opportunity to questioned Lopes da Mota. He asked why Lopes da Mota does not suspend his functions at Eurojust until the conclusion of the inquiry so that Portugal may refer the case to Eurojust? According to Nuno Melo Portugal has never asked Eurojust support on the Freeport case due to the alleged pressures by Lopes da Mota on the magistrates who are conducting the investigation.

In reply, Lopes da Mota said that he was elected by his colleagues therefore Portugal has nothing to do with his position. Moreover, he said that there are no legal grounds to suspend his functions. Furthermore, he stressed that the issue is to be discussed in Portugal not in Brussels.

This case is too serious to be ignored. Lopes da Mota has no credibility to lead Eurojust and this must be shown. Lopes da Mota has allegedly interfere with the investigation of a case which, in fact, had been referred to Eurojust to improve cooperation in the investigations between Portuguese and British authorities. He should have suspended his functions at Eurojust at least until the conclusion of the disciplinary procedure.