“The Government is entangled with the nationality law, attempting to present a proposal to legitimize a law that has already faced various criticisms regarding its constitutionality,” stated Andreia Galvão, deputy substituting for the national coordinator, Mariana Mortágua.
Speaking to journalists at the Assembleia da República, the sole deputy responded to Tuesday’s development where the PSD and CDS-PP, the parties supporting the Government, introduced an independent amendment proposal to incorporate the loss of nationality as an accessory penalty in the Penal Code, removing this issue from the Government’s nationality law proposal.
“They present two differentiated bills to try, despite acknowledging that some proposals still do not meet constitutional norms, to impose this matter and this unequal norm,” she criticized.
From the BE’s perspective, even with the proposed amendments, the issue remains a “cruel law.”
“It is a law constructed based on a system of inequality, differentiating wealthy citizens and foreigners from citizens who are working and living in this country and who want to contribute to becoming part of their community,” she asserted, adding that BE will oppose the text’s vote.
When asked if she expects the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to send the document to the Constitutional Court, should it pass in parliament, Andreia Galvão affirmed her expectations.
“Yes, we expect the law to be scrutinized for its constitutional validity,” she replied.
On Tuesday, PSD and CDS-PP also proposed changes to the nationality law to remove the article providing for its retroactive application, in light of constitutional experts’ opinions.
The amendments to the nationality law proposed by the PSD/CDS Government were sent to the specialty without a vote in July, and today, at the PS’s request, the discussion in the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms, and Guarantees has been postponed by a week.
