Portugal’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, addressed the current wave against migration in Europe during his speech at the Millennium Talks Lisbon — COTEC Innovation Summit, held at FIL in Lisbon. He described balancing this trend as “a very difficult task”.
He noted, “It is a very difficult task to balance the wave that is lived in the world, in Europe, and also in Portugal, which is a wave against migrations. It’s a fact. It has nothing to do with force A, B, C, D, because it is present all over Europe. It is an old, aging continent reacting with fear,” he argued.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa attributed this fear to being exacerbated by the pandemic and claimed it relates more to the public’s psychological reality than statistical reality.
The President pointed out that the analysis of immigration from countries like France or Germany has been adopted, emphasizing the contrast between statistics and perceptions, as there is no significant presence of Muslim or Arab immigrants in Portugal.
He stressed the importance of maintaining connections with CPLP countries in managing migration issues, as these countries can provide contributions to critical sectors of the national economy, such as public works, hospitality, and social institutions.
Rebelo de Sousa stated that in these sectors “the Portuguese are being replaced by Brazilians, Angolans, Cape Verdeans, and Ukrainians,” adding that “in other times,” countries prioritized certain immigrants, similar to past preferences exercised by Luxembourg regarding Portuguese immigrants.
He explained, “In other times, countries, when discussing regulation, thought this way. This is how Luxembourg chose Portuguese at the right time. It made a choice. And thus created more favorable conditions for the Portuguese compared to Yugoslavs, Spaniards, Italians, North Africans, and other neighboring countries,” he added.
In his speech, he underscored the importance of Portugal “being well” in a world that isn’t, highlighting the country’s economic growth, tourism, and foreign investment figures.
“There is no doubt that Portugal is safe, well-located geographically, with unique weather conditions, unique hospitality, unique nature, unique human availability (…) all those who are here, who can travel the world, know that it is increasingly rare to have this set of conditions,” he added.
