LISBON: Unlike maximum European countries, who are looking to scale back the inflow of migrants, Portugal is bucking the fashion by means of taking a look to immigration in an effort to counter its declining inhabitants.
"We need more immigration and we won't tolerate any xenophobic rhetoric," Prime Minister Antonio Costa advised activists at a birthday celebration convention in May, drawing resounding applause.
Demonstrating this openness, Portugal used to be one of the crucial first that volunteered to soak up one of the most migrants on board the Lifeline, a rescue send which were stranded at sea since June 21 after Italy refused it safe harbour.
And as European leaders struggled to succeed in a deal at a summit last week over who will have to soak up migrants rescued off the coast of North Africa, Portugal's socialist executive used to be already taking steps to make itself a extra attractive destination.
"It was a very difficult summit and the apparent consensus reached in the deal did not hide the deep divisions which are today threatening the European Union," Costa stated after leaving the summit.
And Friday's election of former Portuguese minister Antonio Vitorino as head of the International Organization for Migration "demonstrates the great importance that Portugal places on dialogue about the issue," the international ministry stated.
Costa, whose father used to be a well-known communist author descended from an aristocratic circle of relatives in the former Portuguese colony of Goa in India, has made reviving the declining inhabitants a key element of his political programme.
And it's going to be a central issue for him as the rustic heads into elections next 12 months during which Costa is the frontrunner.
According to research quoted by means of the federal government, Portugal needs at least 75,000 new citizens yearly simply to take care of a strong working inhabitants, which these days numbers just 10.4 million folks.
In this context, the federal government on Thursday adopted a raft of latest regulatory measures to simplify the procedures for getting a visa for college kids or those wanting to create a start-up.
And it additionally opened how one can regularise the standing of a few 30,000 international nationals who arrived legally in Portugal but would not have any authorisation to paintings.
During the three years of recession which adopted the monetary disaster of 2011, greater than 300,000 Portuguese left looking for a better lifestyle, a lot of them young university graduates.
In 2017, Portugal registered a favorable migration stability -- the adaptation between those leaving and those getting into the rustic -- for the primary time in six years, the National Statistics Institute stated.
Last 12 months, the Portuguese authorities issued 61,400 new residency permits, an build up of 31 p.c from 2016, which mirrored a six p.c build up in the choice of foreigners dwelling in the country, a border police report stated last week.
The country has additionally returned to expansion, particularly thanks to a increase in tourism and international funding in assets, but trade leaders have warned that it could be simply reversed by means of the loss of professional labour.
The hard-won deal reached by means of EU member states on Friday stipulates that migrants rescued at sea will have to be redistributed a number of the other member states -- on a voluntary foundation.
Portugal is already a part of a voluntary programme for the redistribution of refugees proposed in January by means of the European Commission which targets to resettle at least 50,000 refugees over the following two years.
Within the framework of an previous programme, which ran from 2015 to March 2018, Portugal took in 1,552 refugees.
However, handiest about part of those who entered Portugal stayed, with the remainder leaving for nations offering better financial alternatives.
"We need more immigration and we won't tolerate any xenophobic rhetoric," Prime Minister Antonio Costa advised activists at a birthday celebration convention in May, drawing resounding applause.
Demonstrating this openness, Portugal used to be one of the crucial first that volunteered to soak up one of the most migrants on board the Lifeline, a rescue send which were stranded at sea since June 21 after Italy refused it safe harbour.
And as European leaders struggled to succeed in a deal at a summit last week over who will have to soak up migrants rescued off the coast of North Africa, Portugal's socialist executive used to be already taking steps to make itself a extra attractive destination.
"It was a very difficult summit and the apparent consensus reached in the deal did not hide the deep divisions which are today threatening the European Union," Costa stated after leaving the summit.
And Friday's election of former Portuguese minister Antonio Vitorino as head of the International Organization for Migration "demonstrates the great importance that Portugal places on dialogue about the issue," the international ministry stated.
Costa, whose father used to be a well-known communist author descended from an aristocratic circle of relatives in the former Portuguese colony of Goa in India, has made reviving the declining inhabitants a key element of his political programme.
And it's going to be a central issue for him as the rustic heads into elections next 12 months during which Costa is the frontrunner.
According to research quoted by means of the federal government, Portugal needs at least 75,000 new citizens yearly simply to take care of a strong working inhabitants, which these days numbers just 10.4 million folks.
In this context, the federal government on Thursday adopted a raft of latest regulatory measures to simplify the procedures for getting a visa for college kids or those wanting to create a start-up.
And it additionally opened how one can regularise the standing of a few 30,000 international nationals who arrived legally in Portugal but would not have any authorisation to paintings.
During the three years of recession which adopted the monetary disaster of 2011, greater than 300,000 Portuguese left looking for a better lifestyle, a lot of them young university graduates.
In 2017, Portugal registered a favorable migration stability -- the adaptation between those leaving and those getting into the rustic -- for the primary time in six years, the National Statistics Institute stated.
Last 12 months, the Portuguese authorities issued 61,400 new residency permits, an build up of 31 p.c from 2016, which mirrored a six p.c build up in the choice of foreigners dwelling in the country, a border police report stated last week.
The country has additionally returned to expansion, particularly thanks to a increase in tourism and international funding in assets, but trade leaders have warned that it could be simply reversed by means of the loss of professional labour.
The hard-won deal reached by means of EU member states on Friday stipulates that migrants rescued at sea will have to be redistributed a number of the other member states -- on a voluntary foundation.
Portugal is already a part of a voluntary programme for the redistribution of refugees proposed in January by means of the European Commission which targets to resettle at least 50,000 refugees over the following two years.
Within the framework of an previous programme, which ran from 2015 to March 2018, Portugal took in 1,552 refugees.
However, handiest about part of those who entered Portugal stayed, with the remainder leaving for nations offering better financial alternatives.
Portugal, the European country that wants more migrants
![Portugal, the European country that wants more migrants]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
July 02, 2018
Rating:
