At the national headquarters of the party in Lisbon, Rui Fernandes, a member of the Central Committee Political Commission of the PCP, criticized the government’s proposal, stating that in addition to the constitutional issues raised by the Constitutional Court (TC), the proposal “does not provide an adequate response to the problems of those who choose our country to live and work.”
“The return of the law to the Assembly of the Republic is a renewed opportunity to incorporate the contributions of specialist entities to build better responses to these issues, something that PSD, CDS, and Chega disregarded in the development of the original process,” he added.
Rui Fernandes expressed no surprise at the decision and emphasized the importance of involving various entities in creating a law “of this nature and characteristics” seriously.
“I believe there is only an advantage in welcoming and listening to the various entities that are directly involved. This will help in constructing the best solutions,” he concluded.
The President of the Republic today vetoed the parliament’s decree that approves the legal framework for the entry, stay, exit, and expulsion of foreigners from national territory after the Constitutional Court declared five provisions unconstitutional.
This decision by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was announced moments after the judges at Palácio Ratton rejected five provisions of the parliament’s decree concerning the legal framework for the entry, stay, exit, and expulsion of foreigners from national territory.
The TC’s decision follows a request by the President of the Republic for a preventive inspection of the constitutionality of seven provisions of this decree on July 24.
The decree was approved on July 16 in the Assembly of the Republic, with favorable votes from PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, abstention from IL, and votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, PAN, and JPP.
The decree faced criticism from nearly all parties, except PSD, Chega, and CDS-PP, with many deeming it unconstitutional and criticizing the legislative process, which proceeded without consulting immigrant associations or constitutional experts and lacked mandatory reviews.
In his request to the TC, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sought preventive verification of the constitutionality of provisions concerning the right to family reunification and its exercise conditions, the timeframe for the Agency for Migration, Integration, and Asylum (AIMA) to review requests, and the right of appeal.
