The Lisbon City Council has approved a proposal for the IV Municipal Plan for the Integration of Migrants in Lisbon (PMIML), during a private meeting of its executive committee. The approval saw abstentions from BE, PCP, Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), and Livre, while votes in favor came from PS and the leadership of PSD/CDS-PP.
The document, signed by Councilwoman for Human and Social Rights, Sofia Athayde (CDS-PP), is set to be open for public consultation for 30 working days to gather contributions and suggestions. It states that the development of the new PMIML is in line with the National Plan for Implementing the Global Compact for Migration, the Action Plan for Migration, and the European Pact on asylum and migration.
These three documents, both national and international, “frame municipal public policies in terms of migration and interculturality,” explained Sofia Athayde.
Additionally, the city of Lisbon’s 2024-2028 Major Planning Options include measures to “promote, support, and participate in programs and initiatives for the integration of immigrant communities, refugees, and asylum seekers, as well as ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities.” The plan also aims to “strengthen associations, institutions, and communities” and “reactivate the Municipal Council for Interculturality and Citizenship — CMIC.”
The Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning — IGOT conducted a socio-demographic diagnosis, which provides a summary of the migrant population in Lisbon, as mentioned in the proposal without further disclosure.
While voting in favor, primarily to expedite the plan’s implementation, the PS councillors criticized the nearly three-year delay in presenting the 2024-2027 PMIML under the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, headed by Social Democrat Carlos Moedas.
The socialists also pointed out the lack of information regarding the execution status of the previous plan, which does not allow conclusions about what has already been implemented, mentioning that there is no budget or schedule for the measures.
“Essential measures that have already been approved are missing, such as campaigns for the electoral registration of migrants and the Municipal Council for Interculturality, which has only met once this term and was not consulted,” noted the PS, hoping the public consultation phase will address these shortcomings.
Livro stated that the plan includes 66 measures divided into three axes, but “not a single one represents a real municipal investment in housing for migrants,” warning that “without ensuring the right to housing, integration is not possible.”
The BE accused Carlos Moedas of pursuing “policies that turn their back on migrants,” as the plan was presented without CMIC’s approval, a criticism also echoed by Cidadãos Por Lisboa, who further expressed concerns about the lack of a timeline and budget for the plan’s implementation.
For the PCP, the integration plan for migrants, along with the Municipal Program for Anti-racist, Intercultural Education, and Human Rights, “suffers from being late since the process began with resolutions from 2022 and 2023.”
The proposal to open the Municipal Program for Anti-racist, Intercultural Education, and Human Rights for public consultation, signed by PSD/CDS-PP and Cidadãos Por Lisboa (CPL), was unanimously approved.
Recalling that the proposal followed their initiative, presented in July 2022, the CPL emphasized that this program “will provide Lisbon schools with projects and training actions already mature and capable of being replicated,” including the initiative “With a suitcase in hand against discrimination” from Escola EB 1 do Castelo.
