The former director of Globalia’s legal department, Ramiro Campos Gallego, denied this Thursday that the wife of the Prime Minister, Begoña Gómez, had participated “at all” in the loan to Air Europa, while defending the operation, proclaiming that it had “very significant” conditions and that everything has already been repaid with interest.
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This was stated in the Senate commission on SEPI by the director of Globalia’s legal department at the time the loan was granted to Air Europa, entering into a discussion with the PP about the term of this aid, as the ‘populares’ insist that it is a “rescue”.
However, the former Globalia executive reiterated that it was a “loan” with “very significant” conditions, suggesting they were even “abusive”, while maintaining that this money has been repaid “in full” and with interest.
According to his statement, he himself, along with a team, was in charge of carrying out the operations for this loan, although he denied having participated in any meeting between the former Globalia CEO Javier Hidalgo and the former Minister of Economy Nadia Calviño.
When asked if he had met with the vice-president of SEPI, Bartolomé Lora, the former Globalia executive acknowledged meetings with him in the context of this loan.
On the other hand, and in response to the Popular Party’s criticisms about the loan structure and the alleged absence of European control, Campos assured that the operation “was indeed communicated to Brussels”.
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As he explained, SEPI requested the English translation of the company’s viability plan at the beginning of October for submission to community institutions, thus rejecting the idea that it was a procedure outside European supervision. Furthermore, he recalled that, after a complaint filed by Ryanair, a judicial resolution was issued that endorsed the correctness of the process followed in granting the loan.
The former legal head also stressed that the 475 million euros that were to be repaid before November 26, 2026, have already been paid in full, along with the corresponding interest, insisting that this “confirms the nature of a loan –and not a rescue–” defended by the company from the beginning.
Finally, Campos denied that Air Europa received “favorable treatment” in accessing the Strategic Companies Solvency Support Fund and defended that the company was the first to obtain the aid because it “worked hard to be the first”, complying with all the requirements established in the administrative procedure on equal terms with respect to the other applicant companies.
He also pointed out that access to the fund was “the last resort” to avoid the airline’s bankruptcy, which in October 2020 had barely 3.5 million euros in cash and no bank financing.
As he explained, the operation allowed the company’s continuity to be guaranteed, employment to be preserved, and subsequently facilitated the full repayment of the loan after recovering profits.
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