The Prime Minister assured this Friday that his government will continue Portugal’s “strong commitment” to the values of the European Union and promised to campaign to encourage voters to vote on June 9.
At the start of the preparatory debates of the Special European Council, which will take place on 17 and 18 April and which will be the first in which he will take part as Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro had on his side the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pedro Duarte and Secretary of State for European Affairs Ines Domingos.
“In this first preparatory debate of the current legislative body of the European Council, I begin by declaring that the government will continue Portugal’s strong commitment to the values of the European Union and to strengthening the European project, because this is the best way to protect the national interests and well-being of the Portuguese,” Montenegro said.
The prime minister also pledged the government’s commitment to a “very intensive campaign to raise awareness among Portuguese people about participating in the European elections” which will take place in Portugal on June 9.
“We are very interested in developing mechanisms that can facilitate this participation, be it mobile voting or the mass participation of Portuguese people, who may have a different calendar next weekend, in early voting,” he explained.
In addition to the topics that the next European Council will focus on – Competitiveness and the internal market and EU-Turkey relations – Montenegro wanted to return to a topic that it raised at the opening of the debate on the government program on Thursday: the importance of implementing European funds for Portugal, in particular the Plan recovery and resilience (PRR).
“It’s important to have more transparency, more control and more enforcement. Our goal is to do a lot, but also to do it well,” he emphasized.
Regarding competitiveness and the internal market, a topic that should focus much of the meeting in Brussels, Montenegro emphasized that “the European economic and social model is unique and is the basis of innovation and growth for member states, citizens and their companies.” .
“But this model requires constant evolution and adaptation (…) It is essential that this single market promotes increasingly fair competition across the European space and functions as a force for convergence, cohesion and sustainable development for the benefit of all Member States, regions and citizens” , he thinks.
The Prime Minister defended cutting the “unnecessary bureaucracy” that he believes companies are saddled with and “trying to simplify administration” as a priority at both national and European level.
On the other hand, he believed that the green and digital transition “represents a fundamental axis of competitiveness” for companies and economies.
“To this end, it is important to move forward in deepening the Capital Markets Union and we hope that the European Council will develop guidelines in this regard,” he said.
Regarding public investment, the Portuguese government will defend that “European goals shared by all, such as economic convergence, should also be supported by common instruments,” similar to what was done with the PRR.
Defending an “open European trade policy”, increasing investment in renewable energy and “strong investment in energy connectivity” will be other executive priorities at the next European Council.
The Prime Minister also wants to bring additional emphasis to the meeting regarding the agricultural sector, which has always been called strategic.
“We will advocate for reducing the bureaucratic burden on farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy,” he said.
Regarding the second item on the agenda, relations with Turkey, the Prime Minister classified the country as “a partner of the greatest importance for Europe, with which it will be necessary and essential to maintain balanced relations.”
“We must explore the potential of resuming a positive agenda with Turkey, always with strict respect for the fundamental values of the Union. And always respecting the imperative of solidarity between member states,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.