The majority seeking to amend the Aliens Act will be 'judged in due time'
The President of Portugal said today that the parliamentary majorities seeking to amend the Aliens Act 'will be judged in due time' and reserves the right to make further comments after the Constitutional Court delivers its ruling.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa argued that, regarding the Aliens Act, it is now important to 'identify which legal text is to be amended' and 'clarify matters under the intervention of the Constitutional Court,' adding that, politically, 'this will be recorded in history,' as the majority 'wants these solutions and will be judged accordingly in due course.'
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, during a visit to the Telecommunications Port of Santa Maria in the Azores, was asked what he would do if the Constitutional Court does not share his concerns about the new Aliens Law—having sent the decree to Palácio Ratton—where he gave an interview to journalists between scheduled events.
'As for political debate, I will quickly consider whether it’s worth setting a political obstacle of three weeks or fifteen days to this bill, for personal reasons, knowing it will be approved next time it comes up. Or whether I can achieve the same outcome differently—namely, by saying, ‘I promulgate it, but I politically disagree,’' Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa added.
Marcelo also stated he has no 'major political concerns unrelated to the legal issue at hand,' and that to decide his next move, he needs to know whether the Constitutional Court finds the law 'in conflict with constitutional principles.'
The President further explained that 'by prioritizing an appeal to the Constitutional Court, he avoided the path of political veto from the outset,' and considers it 'more useful to determine whether there are grounds for constitutional doubts,' because 'prevention is better than cure.'
On July 24, the President of the Republic submitted to the Constitutional Court a legislative decree amending the legal regime on entry, residence, exit, and removal of foreigners, approved by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega, and CDS-PP.
The Head of State called for a preventive review of whether the right to family reunification, its exercise conditions, deadlines for AIMA (Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum) to assess applications, and provisions on the right of appeal comply with the Constitution.
Regarding the government's proposed changes to labor laws, Marcelo explained that, as a right-wing government, unlike its predecessor, this administration prioritizes private enterprise and competitiveness—a path legitimized through elections.
'If at one point the people want left-wing movements, try the left. If at another point they want right-wing movements, try the right. Then we’ll see whether, in the future, the people want more right-wing movements or a different kind of left-wing movement—that’s democracy,' he said.
The President of the Republic explained that his duty is to assess whether both solutions are 'constitutional,' and to strike a balance between verifying constitutionality and 'respecting the will of the people.'
When asked whether he anticipated any constitutional questions, Marcelo said he 'has no authority to speculate on how much a text he does not know might violate the Constitution,' but once he becomes aware of the changes, he will 'check as quickly as possible whether any doubts exist.'