The President of the Republic states, and the Socialist Party could agree, that the Government minimally altered the draft law to comply with the Constitutional Court’s ruling that had previously rejected the Foreigners’ Law, but essential fundamental issues remain unresolved,” said Eurico Brilhante Dias to journalists at the parliament.
From the perspective of the PS parliamentary leader, the Government has a proposal for immigration “so unbalanced that it may also hinder the development and growth of the Portuguese economy.”
“It must be stated that the Constitutional Court and the intervention of the President of the Republic were central to improving [the law], yet it was not enough for the Socialist Party to at least abstain, particularly because it introduces barriers that, in our understanding, jeopardize central aspects of community life and economic growth, which remains anemic,” he criticized.
The PS deputy mentioned that, during the debate, the socialists had already stated that “what was substantive in the Constitutional Court’s ruling was being complied with.”
“That was our analysis, notwithstanding one or two observations about aspects that could be less perceptible in the grey area of compliance with the Constitution of the Republic, but from the outset, we said that essentially the Government was trying to respond to a ruling that had been particularly harsh,” he emphasized.
According to Eurico, “the Government currently has a green channel agreement with business associations that is not functioning” and declined a proposal for a “regulated immigration directed at business activities that most need immigration.”
“The work visa has so far shown signs of not functioning, and therefore the Government presented not only a measure to curb regular immigration, which seems to be what is proposed, but also a proposal that we believe will hinder the Portuguese economy and cause the economy to face more challenges,” he warned.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, promulgated the Foreigners’ Law, according to information released today on the presidency’s website.
In the note, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considers that the decree, reviewed and approved by 70% of the deputies, “minimally addresses the essential doubts of unconstitutionality raised by him and confirmed by the Constitutional Court.”
The decree of the Assembly of the Republic alters the legal regime of entry, stay, exit, and removal of foreigners from the national territory.
This new version was approved in the plenary session on September 30 with votes in favor from PSD, CDS-PP, Chega, IL, and JPP, and votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, following the rejection of five norms of the previous decree by the Constitutional Court in August.
PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN, as well as the sole deputy of JPP, had voted against the first version, approved on July 16 with votes in favor from PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, with IL abstaining. The decree was drafted based on a government proposal from PSD/CDS-PP and a draft law from Chega.
