The president of the CDS-PP, Nuno Melo, announced this Saturday that he will ask the European Commission to intervene “in defense of the rights of citizens affected” by the government’s housing measures.
According to the centrist leader, the measures “contrary to the rule of law, the Constitution (art. 62 [que garante o direito à propriedade privada]) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (art. 17 [que estabelece o direito de propriedade])”.
In a note to DN, Nuno Melo reminds that “in democratic states under the rule of law, it is up to the owners to decide how to use their assets, provided it is legal and any restrictions imposed by the states imply the payment of damages.” . Furthermore, it says, “the government will impose an obligation on owners of houses to rent them compulsorily” if they are vacant, determine rents later. This, he argues, “against the will of the owners”.
Remember that the state “is the largest owner of houses in Portugal” is that “Don’t market what’s yours”, Nuno Melo compares the measures “to a stateist frenzy typical of totalitarian regimes”. That is why the MEP sent two questions to the European Commission.
On the one hand, you want to know what is the interpretation of the institution of the “measure imposed by the government in violation of the rule of law”because, he argues, it “contradicts constitutional provisions and treaties freely endorsed by the Portuguese State”. On the other hand, Nuno Melo asks: “As a guardian of treaties, how do you think [a Comissão] respond respecting the rights of citizens of all nationalities, property owners in Portugal?”
The CDS, remember, had already accused the housing measures program announced on Thursday of “typical behavior of authoritarian regimes”.
Source: DN
