The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, announced on Tuesday that he will disclose his decision concerning the Foreigners Law on “October 16 [Thursday]”, as that marks the deadline for him to decide whether to send it to the Constitutional Court (TC).
“The deadline is on the 16th to decide whether to send it or not to the Constitutional Court. So, on the 16th – I already have the decision in my mind – but on the 16th I will announce my decision”, he stated to journalists in Setúbal.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa assured that he intends to “meet the deadline”, noting it will clarify his “inclination”.
The President added that the Foreigners Law was received at Belém on October 8.
“It arrived on the 8th, meanwhile I was away, as you know, in Estonia. I returned, and if it weren’t for these missions and scheduled commitments, I might have already decided, because the deadline is on the 16th to decide whether to send it or not to the Constitutional Court, so I have the decision in my mind, but on the 16th, I will disclose the decision on the matter,” he emphasized.
In July, the President forwarded the ‘first version’ of the Nationality Law to the Constitutional Court. In August, the TC declared five norms of the law unconstitutional, thus rejecting the document.
Nationality Law? “There are two or three more sensitive points”
When asked about the Nationality Law, Marcelo noted there are “sensitive points”, including issues of retroactivity and loss of nationality.
“There are two or three more sensitive points and others that are not as sensitive from a legal standpoint, but politically, such as the different deadlines for nationals of Portuguese-speaking countries and others,” he mentioned.
The head of state highlighted that there are only “three or four fundamental issues”, adding that he will “wait for parliamentary debate, the intervention of various parties, and the final vote, which is scheduled before the general debate on the State Budget”.
“Do the math. The general debate of the Budget is marked, I believe, for October 27 and 28, with the general vote on the 28th. So, everything is very quick. [Day] 16 you have news, and then you will have a vote, apparently, on another law on the 26th or 27th,” he stressed.
Regarding concerns about the Government’s persistence on issues like loss of nationality, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa declined to comment.
“I will not comment on that. I will wait to see what the decision is,” he said.
The PSD/CDS-PP Government’s proposal to revise the Nationality Law moved to committee without a vote in July and will be discussed on Wednesday in the Commission on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms, and Guarantees.
[Updated at 18h29]
