Lisbon, Jan. 7, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Government assured on Wednesday that the temporary suspension of the European border control system for non-EU citizens at Lisbon airport "in no way compromises national security", adding that the measure is already "yielding results".
‘I want to make this very clear so that there is no misinterpretation. This suspension in no way compromises national security, nor does it mean that we are returning to the open-door policy that the Socialist Party knows so well,’ said Paulo Simões Ribeiro, Deputy Secretary of State for Home Affairs, in parliament.
In an urgent debate requested by the Socialist Party (PS) on the "chaos at Lisbon airport and the impact of the suspension of the EU Entry and Exit System" (EES), the Secretary of State, representing the interior minister, stressed that "all essential controls and checks on international databases remain fully operational, in particular checks on the Europol and Interpol databases".
According to the minister, the European Union regulation governing the operation of this system provides for the possibility of its temporary suspension for a limited period.
"This suspension is exceptional and temporary and will help to avoid operational constraints and negative impacts on the flow of passengers," he said, stressing that the measures taken "are having positive effects".
The secretary of state stressed that the Government is "aware of the seriousness of the disruptions that occurred on the days with the highest number of passengers" at Lisbon airport, and has therefore acted and decided in accordance with the demands of the situation.
In addition to suspending the European entry and exit control system for a period of three months, the Government also reinforced Lisbon airport with 24 national guard military personnel, in addition to 80 Public Security Police officers who had already been announced for the Christmas and New Year period.
Paulo Simões Pereira also considered it "curious, to say the least, that the word chaos is being brought into the debate by those who were at the root of the problem", accusing the PS of the "improvised and unstructured" way in which it abolished the Foreigners and Borders Service and of having failed the country, as the opposition party, when in 2024, together with the far-right Chega Party, it rejected the creation of the Public Security Police National Foreigners and Borders Unit (UNEF).
During the debate, Socialist MP Pedro Delgado Alves blamed the government for the situation at Lisbon airport, noting that the queues "never lasted less than three hours" and "reached a record nine hours".
Pedro Delgado Alves said that the queues ended with the suspension of the system, which does not mean that the problem has been solved, adding that "nothing has been solved because the simple way for the Government to overcome the difficulty was to stop operating the entry and exit control system".
In turn, Chega MP Cristina Rodrigues said that she was "somewhat surprised" to see the PS schedule an urgent debate and be "concerned about border control" when it was the socialist government that was "responsible for the lack of border control".
Cristina Rodrigues also accused the PS of "political exploitation" and recalled that the extinct foreigners and borders service (SEF) "had already warned of five-hour queues" at the airport.
Fabian Figueiredo, from the Laft Bloc (BE), said that the situation at the airport is "the result of when planning is replaced by populist alarmism".
Ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) MP António Rodrigues blamed "those who prevented the creation of the Public Security Police UNEF" and lamented that "the PS's concern about security has only appeared now", pointing out that "the government has always been present and has taken measures".
On the PSD side, Hugo Soares also recalled that queues at airports were already in the news when José Luís Carneiro, current leader of the PS, was interior minister, referring to statements he made in 2022 when he said that "it is impossible to end queues at the airport".
Paulo Muacho, from the (left wing) Livre Party, recalled that Lisbon airport "is operating above capacity" and accused the government of irresponsibility and of having taken "isolated measures to manage the chaos", as well as attributing responsibility to the country's airports managing company, ANA.
Liberal Initiative MP Rui Rocha (IL) considered the situation "unacceptable" and damaging to the country's image, arguing that Lisbon airport is an "open bar for anyone who wants to enter Portugal and Europe".
Paula Santos, from the Communist Party (PCP), accused the government of "favouring the interests of ANA".
CMP/AYLS // AYLS
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