Portugal: new migration law blocked
Portugal's conservative government has proposed a new law tightening the family reunification regulations and raising the hurdles for acquiring citizenship. However at the behest of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Constitutional Court reviewed the draft, which the government had planned to push through with support of the right-wing populist Chega party, and has now declared it unconstitutional.
Don't let populism undermine the economy
Público warns that the government may once again seek the support of the right-wing populist Chega party to amend the law:
“It would testify to extreme political blindness to do this in a country that is recording record growth in terms of the number of jobs and that continues to suffer from labour shortages in key sectors such as healthcare, construction and public works. Wanting to endow Portugal with one of the most restrictive systems for granting citizenship may be a crowd-pleaser but even if the country and the economy manage to adapt to fewer immigrants this would inflict a lot of pain and profound damage.”
No closer to a solution
The law's being ruled unconstitutional neither solves the migration problem nor improves the lives of migrants, Correio da Manhã criticises:
“Throughout Europe and elsewhere in the world, it has already been recognised that a different approach to immigration is needed. Portugal is no exception. ... What modes of immigration can we offer to those who come in search of a better life and those already here that provide decent wages, access to healthcare, education and housing? The left has been unable to find an answer to this question, and the right is still searching for one. But the longer it takes, the worse the problem becomes and the greater the risk of it spiralling out of control.”