National authorities “have already informed the European Commission” and now “a dialogue will take place to demonstrate the Portuguese position” regarding visas for citizens of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP). The guarantee was given by José Luís Carneiro, Minister of the Interior, and follows news from DN, which revealed that there is an “infringement procedure” against Portugal. Allegedly, the residence permit program for CPLP people, which was set up in March last year as part of the mobility agreement between the two parties, violates the European visa regime. Now Portugal – which has already been notified – has two months to respond to the letter and correct the shortcomings identified in the program by the European Commission.
But this Monday the minister refused to go against the rules. The goal of improving mobility conditions between CPLP countries “is as old” as the community (which was founded on July 17, 1996), said José Luís Carneiro. Remember that Portugal has had a known position on this issue “for a long time”, the government official guaranteed that the “European Commission has been informed since the beginning of this reflection”.
Despite the belief that there are no irregularities, José Luís Carneiro – who spoke in Porto on the sidelines of the presentation of the results of the operation Safe summer – stated that the infringement procedure is “under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat of State for European Affairs”. According to the European Commission, this visa program is not in accordance with European rules that “establish a uniform model of residence permit for third-country nationals”, contrary to the Schengen Agreement, which requires free movement within the European area.
In the note you sent, the Commission “urges Portugal to harmonize the provisions” of these residence permits in accordance “with European Union law”. According to the entity “Portugal has failed to fulfill its obligations under Regulation 1030/2002, which establishes a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals“Both residence permits and long-term work-seeking visas for nationals of CPLP states do not allow their holders to travel within the Schengen area,” the European Commission also says.
Speaking to Lusa on Monday, Tiago Antunes, Secretary of State for European Affairs, said Portugal was “surprised” by the issue. “We were surprised last week by the opening of the infringement procedure by the European Commission. We are having some difficulty in understanding this. We have had several opportunities in the past to explain to the European Commission that there is no incompatibility between the regime of the CPLP Mobility Agreement and the Schengen Area regime,” the official stated, adding: “We are confident that there is no incompatibility. We would never have adopted these rules if we thought they were in conflict were with the Schengen regime.” It is based on this trust, he said, that the program will continue to be applied within a “framework of full legality”.
Also according to the State Secretary These doubts of the European Commission are based on complaints from an individual citizen, about which Portugal had already provided some clarification.
Despite all these issues, the President of the Republic also rejected any incompatibilities between the Portuguese program and the European visa regime. Speaking of France, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was on the same page as the government: “Portugal has been explaining for years why there is no incompatibility between the regimes [de vistos] which is adopted with regard to the CPLP and the European Community regime. We have already explained why there is no opposition, no shock. So far this has been accepted and we believe we will assert our position.”
Chega will present the end of the program
In response to these alleged violations, Chega has announced that the party will submit a request to parliament to revoke this mobility agreement.
During a press conference at party headquarters, André Ventura called the program “nonsense and deceit since time immemorial.” “Out of prudence, Chega will submit a request to the Assembly of the Republic to withdraw it as soon as possible.”
The party also wants to summon José Luís Carneiro to the General Assembly to “discuss this issue”.
With Lusa
Source: DN
