CDS-PP president and MEP Nuno Melo is asking for the European Commission’s “intervention” in light of the “restrictions on local accommodation” included in the government’s “More housing” programme, the party said on Tuesday.
“The series of housing measures proposed by the Portuguese government includes the end of issuing new local housing permits and numerous generic restrictions that will make activity impossible in many places in the country, contrary to the principle of proportionality,” says the CDS , in a statement.
In this sense, Nuno Melo addressed a “priority question for a written answer” to the European Commission on the measures for local accommodation proposed by the executive of António Costa that, according to the MEP, “constitute an obstacle for the freedom to provide services” and are “an obstacle to the guarantee of recipients and providers”.
“The freedom to provide services is extremely important for the completion of the internal market, one of the objectives of the treaties is to remove obstacles to the freedom of establishment and the free movement of services,” Nuno Melo begins. The chairman of the CDS-PP points to the “Services Directive (Directive 2006/123/EC)” which “enforces this freedom to provide services in the EU”.
For the MEP, the Portuguese government’s proposal “creates an obstacle to the freedom to provide services as set out, and constitutes an obstacle to guaranteeing recipients and service providers the necessary security for the effective exercise of the freedoms provided for in the treaties , which amounts to a gross violation of the principle of proportionality”.
Faced with the government proposal, Nuno Melo wants to know “how does the European Commission intend to react?”.
“The proposal to prohibit new issuance of local housing permits violates Directive 2006/123/EC, namely by not allowing the provider to develop its service activities in the internal market. Is the European Commission considering clarification to ask the Portuguese government?” asks Nuno Melo.
The MEP, remember, had already announced that he would ask the European Commission to intervene “in defense of the rights of citizens affected” by the government’s housing measures. Nuno Melo described the program of housing measures as “typical behavior of authoritarian regimes”.
It should be recalled that the Mais Habitação program, approved by the Council of Ministers, stipulates that the issuance of new local housing permits is “prohibited”, with the exception of rural accommodation in inland municipalities, where they can boost local economy. In addition, current local housing permits will be “reassessed in 2030” and periodically every five years thereafter.
Mais Habitação is in public consultation – it ends this Friday (March 10) – and will return to the Council of Ministers next week (the 16th), when some measures will be approved and also the bill that will have to be sent to parliament, since it considers matters that fall within the competence of parliament, namely fiscal measures.
Source: DN
