In the light of reports circulating in the press on the expenditure of ''around 150 thousand euros'' on a dinner, the Management Board of ICP-ANACOM sees fit to issue the following statement.
- ICP-ANACOM began its activity in November 1989 and is the European Union's second oldest regulator in the area of electronic communications and one of the first sectorial regulators to begin operating in Portugal.
- In June 2008, in drafting the Management Plan for the three-year period 2009-2011, a document which was duly made public, it was decided to plan a series of events to commemorate ICP-ANACOM's 20th anniversary. The objective of these commemorations was to strengthen the internal message of ICP-ANACOM's values, enhance staff cohesion and motivation, taking the opportunity to embark upon a new phase of the institution's life. As such, it was decided that ICP-ANACOM would not hold its customary Christmas dinner this year, and that this dinner would instead be incorporated into the anniversary proceedings, in order to keep the amounts spent on this type of event to a minimum.
- The commemorations took place in November 2009 - twenty years after ICP-ANACOM began its activities - on the regulator's own premises, in accordance with legislation with respect to the acquisition process and the disclosure of expenditure.
- It should be stressed that ICP-ANACOM is a body that is administratively and financially independent, receiving no funding from the State Budget; indeed ICP-ANACOM has consistently contributed a substantial part of its revenues to the State - generally 85% of its net results annually. Over the last five years, these payments in favour of the State have amounted to a total of 72.5 million euros.
- Finally, it is noted that ICP-ANACOM has implemented a set of policies to increase the efficiency of its management. As reported in the year's annual report and accounts, revenues in 2009 totalled 77.9 million euros, giving net results of 13 million euros. Meanwhile, excluding extraordinary items, costs reported for 2009 saw a nominal reduction of 5.9% compared to 2008.
Lisbon, 8 October 2010
