President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke to the Lusa news agency at a hotel in Giza province, on the outskirts of Cairo, after attending the inauguration ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum, invited by the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
When asked if he regrets that the PS was excluded from the recent revision of the Nationality Law, approved in parliament by PSD, Chega, IL, CDS-PP, and JPP, and soon to be forwarded to the Palace of Belém, the head of state categorized this legislation among “matters that are very transversal.”
“For these matters, I believe that the greater the parliamentary consensus, the better. Why? For a very simple reason: there is no risk of policy changes when a new government takes over, avoiding shifts from policy to policy. There is no advantage in that. Stability is advantageous,” he argued.
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the same applies to health, education, housing, and justice.
“In matters of justice, I have advocated this frequently. If possible, I might address this at an opportune time,” he noted.
“Other matters where such consensus is important are precisely those related to fundamental aspects of the legal status of people, both Portuguese and foreigners. Generally, it makes sense for all this to be as consensual as possible,” he added.
On Tuesday, the parliament approved, in a final global vote, the revision of the Nationality Law, with 157 votes in favor from PSD, Chega, IL, CDS-PP, and JPP, amounting to more than two-thirds, and 64 votes against from PS, Livre, PCP, BE, and PAN.
With the same voting outcome, an amendment to the Penal Code was approved, stipulating the loss of nationality as a supplementary penalty for those sentenced to effective imprisonment of four years or more.
The two decrees, originating from a proposal by the PSD/CDS-PP government, await the final wording before being sent to the President of the Republic.
