Álvaro dos Santos Amaro (born 25 May 1953) is a Portuguese politician of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) who served as a Member of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2023.[1]

Álvaro Amaro
Member of the European Parliament
for Portugal
In office
2 July 2019 – 6 July 2023
Succeeded byCarlos Coelho
Mayor of Guarda
In office
29 September 2013 – 16 April 2019
Preceded byJoaquim Valente
Succeeded byCarlos Alberto Monteiro
Mayor of Gouveia
In office
16 December 2001 – 29 September 2013
Preceded byAntónio Pacheco
Succeeded byLuís Tadeu
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
1 October 1995 – 16 December 2001
ConstituencyGuarda
Secretary of State for Agriculture
In office
17 August 1987 – 28 October 1995
Prime MinisterAníbal Cavaco Silva
MinisterÁlvaro Barreto
Arlindo Cunha
António Duarte Silva
Personal details
Born
Álvaro dos Santos Amaro

(1953-05-25) 25 May 1953 (age 71)
Coimbra, Portugal
Political partySocial Democratic Party

Amaro was elected as Member of the European Parliament following the 2019 European elections. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament's delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.[2]

In June 2019, Amaro was named a formal suspect in the Rota Final investigation case, due to his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme of rigging public contracting procedures while mayor of Guarda. He made a 40,000€ bail deposit and took office as MEP the following month.[3]

Amaro's parliamentary immunity was lifted in February 2021 following an indictment for malfeasance and fraud in obtaining EU funds for the GuardaFolia carnaval event in 2014.[4] These charges were dropped in July the same year, for lack of concrete evidence.[5]

In April 2023, Álvaro Amaro was charged for malfeasance in public-private partnerships established while mayor of Gouveia, between 2007 and 2011. He was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison (suspended by a fine of 25,000€ within a year) and stepped down as MEP shortly after.[6]

References

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  1. ^ His MEP profile
  2. ^ Álvaro Amaro European Parliament.
  3. ^ "Álvaro Amaro paga 40 mil euros de caução no "Rota Final" e toma posse terça-feira". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ ECO (9 February 2021). "Parlamento Europeu levanta imunidade parlamentar de deputado Álvaro Amaro". ECO (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ Renascença (15 July 2021). "Caso "Guarda Folia". Eurodeputado e autarca não vão a julgamento - Renascença". Rádio Renascença (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Álvaro Amaro resigns as MEP after being convicted of prevarication". Ground News. Retrieved 16 July 2023.