The Socialist Party (PS) rejected the PSD’s request to hear the Minister of National Defense (MDN), Helena Carreiras, in parliament about the Frontex plane patrolling the Azores, at the request of the GNR.
At the vote on the request, which was held on Tuesday in the National Defense Commission, the representatives of the PSD (for), PS (against) and Chega (abstain) were present.
As the DN reported, according to official sources from the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) and the Navy, this cooperation was requested without their knowledge, leading to, the DN learned, a strong unease among the armed forces.
The socialists’ lead came as no surprise after Helena Carreiras stated that the GNR was not exceeding its powers, albeit without explaining why the FAP and the navy were not informed.
The “not subject” that remains subject
On the other hand, trying to devalue what is one more sign of ongoing conflict between the armed forces and the security forcesthe interior minister had stated on Monday that this was a “no matter”.
“During one of the last exercises, Frontex made itself available to mobilize resources to ensure surveillance of the maritime borders, namely the Azores, availability that Portugal naturally accepted,” he said. Jose Luis Carneiro.
The PSD regrets the decision of the PS”,prevent parliament from fulfilling its task of supervising and overseeing government activities and that it has done so with arguments that do not work and that baffle us”, such as saying that “this matter concerns only the Secretary of the Interior and that the Secretary of Defense has no duty to clarify, when we know that there is a dissonance between the official spokesmen for the FAP and the Navy and their statements”.
For the coordinator of the Social Democratic Defence, Jorge Paulo Oliveira”that alone would be reason enough to clarify these statements”.
Two other arguments that the PS made for the leadership also caused confusion: to say that our… request was alarming and causing social alarm and to suggest that, since the hearing on the state budget is coming soon, that we put these questions to Ms. minister”
For Jorge Paulo Oliveira, this suggestion is “the transformation of the regimental law into a regimental obligation. We know we have the right to ask questions outside the budget, but it is a right, not an obligation. It is a change of spirit of the regiment which is not in accordance with the interpretation we give to it”.
The PSD Commissioner also underlines that “it’s not mr. Minister of the Interior who decides what is or is not up for discussionbut parliament and the political forces inside and outside parliament”.
Therefore, he argues, the PSD will “use the only tool it has, which is to turn a regimental hearing into a regimental issue, in the hopes that the minister can go beyond the public statements she has made” .
Questions to the minister and the MAI
When asked by the DN why the aircraft was ordered from Frontex, the GNR pointed out that this request was made “for the purpose of ensuring the surveillance of the external border of the EU, namely the Autonomous Region of the Azores, taking into account the competences of the Coastal Control Unit (UCC) of the GNR, established in the Organic Law of the Guard”.
An official General Command source recalls that “the UCC is the specialized unit responsible for fulfilling the mission of the Guards along the entire coast and in the territorial sea, with specific powers of surveillance, patrol and terrestrial or maritime interception along the entire coast and in the territorial sea of the mainland and the autonomous regions”.
It adds that “this specific patrol will take place between October and November, with financial support from the European Agency Frontex, within the framework of EUROSUR (European Border Surveillance System) Fusion Services, with the aim of monitoring the EU’s external borders improving the chances of early detection of cross-border crime cases”.
In her request to hear Helena Carreiras about what she points to “incomprehensible lack of articulation between the entities involved”reminded the PSD that “for this particular mission, neither the Portuguese Air Force nor the Navy have received any request or information about its implementation by the GNR”.
He also underlined that “the use of an aircraft of the European Agency Frontex in a sovereign space, in particular in the Sea of the Azores, where these two branches carry out different missions, does not respect the principle of subsidiarity, since as well as the inability of the state to take care of its obligations to exercise and sovereignly defend this space with its own resources, while complying with international obligations of surveillance and protection of borders, in this case of the European Union”.
The PSD also sent questions to José Luís Carneiro:
– Is the government aware of this situation, which shows once again that there is a lack of coordination and a total lack of coordination between the Home Administration and Defence?
– What was the reason behind GNR’s request to Frontex without previously articulating this mission with the armed forces?
O He’s comingwho abstained from voting to hear the defense minister also had already questions to the Minister of the Interior:
Since the jurisdiction of the Coastal Control Unit (UCC) extends up to 12 miles from the coast; whereas this patrol has traditionally always been carried out by air forces and naval vessels, neither of which has been requested to carry out this mission; the Azores Autonomous Region is not a critical point within the scope of Frontex’s usual action, and there is no known alarm or imminent threat to that region,” André Ventura’s party said:
– What is the reason for the above-mentioned request to patrol the Azores by Frontex?
– If the Air Force and Navy have traditionally been responsible for this mission of patrolling, monitoring and surveillance in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, why are not both departments called upon to carry out this mission on this occasion?
– Do the Air Force and Navy not have the resources and capabilities to fulfill the above mission?
– Does this request to Frontex not affect the Portuguese state’s ability to autonomously and sovereignly control the areas under its jurisdiction?
– Is there a specific threat to that region that justifies the use of an entity like Frontex, which clearly overlaps with the priority action of the Portuguese state?
The DN has asked the MAI and the MDN for clarification on this matter, without any response. Helena Carreiras’s office is not even responding and José Luís Carneiro’s has “nothing to add”.
Source: DN
