Draft Resolution No. 22 /XI

Monitoring of Portuguese Migratory Streams for the

Foreign

The negative performance of the Portuguese economy in recent years, the consequent

increase in unemployment and the proliferation of low-paying jobs has been coming to

remit many thousands of Portuguese citizens to the adventure of emigration.

Data collected from various organizations that develop their action together

of our communities abroad, such as trade unions, business structures,

councillors of the Portuguese Communities, associations, religious entities and

official bodies, lead us to conclude that since about 4 years they are

abandoning our country more than 100 thousand Portuguese per year.

It is thus, arguably, a migratory phenomenon that only finds parallel

in the first half of the twentieth century, at the time of the massive emigration to Brazil, and in the

years of the colonial war, having then as destinations to France, Germany, the

Luxembourg and later the Suiça.

This time, thanks to freedom of movement within the space of the European Union,

come back into being privileged the European countries, now with a highlight for the UK,

to Spain, France, Switzerland, Andorra and the Netherlands, without however forgetting the countries of

Portuguese expression and those from North America to where, in no way always

legal, if they have driven many compatriots of ours.

2

It is, however, clear that a phenomenon of this nature, with such a size, comes back to

bring to the day-to-day the traditional dramas of the migratory movements: the networks of

illegal contracting, the violation of the rights of workers, situations of almost

slavery, the subjection to different forms of violence, family deconstructionation and the

difficulties with access to education and training.

Therefore, it cannot the Portuguese state to ignore these situations, and it should invest in its

monitoring and study and preparing appropriate social and technical responses to

prevent the isolation and abandonment of the most fragilized Portuguese.

In this sense, the PSD parliamentary group comes to propose a challenge to all the powers

public in Portugal, particularly the Government, in the sense of taking up this fight

as a national objective, by nurturing the creation of a network of solidarity and

support for the Portuguese of our Diaspora, to which it should naturally be dynamised

by the state, but involving equally organizations from our communities.

It is partnerships with a central core located in the most varied

departments of our consular network, including diplomats and technicians of the social area

and employment, by integrating equally local personalities with knowledge of

each reality, capable of contributing to the identification and monitoring of the

more serious cases of lack of information, violation of elementary rights and

difficulty of subsistence.

The Assembly of the Republica resolves, in the terms of the 166 paragraph 5 of the Constitution,

recommend to the Government to adopt the following measures:

3

1-The monitoring of Portuguese migratory flows abroad should

be a permanent political priority of the organs of sovereignty, particularly of the

Government, which should develop the appropriate mechanisms to ensure a

permanent knowledge of the evolution of this phenomenon and the consequent defence of the

rights of the citizens involved.

2-Desummer be created multidisciplinary social support teams within the framework of the

consular services of the main destinations of the current migratory flows which

are expected to include specialists in social service, sociology and psychology.

3-Such teams should be first created in the countries and cities that are

identified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in articulation with

representative bodies of our communities, trade unions, associations

business and religious entities, as more problematic under the point of view

social, economic or political, while destinations of Portuguese citizens.

4-The social support developed by these teams should involve the associations of

Portuguese citizens, who, to the effect, will be able to have access to incentives

specifically aimed at the creation of a real social network for the

Portuguese Communities.

5-Desummer being set up specialized structures in support of the return of emigrants to

work in Municipal Chambers, Regional Social Security Centres, Centres of

Employment and delegations from the AICEP.

4

7-Support for return should translate into advice regarding access to

information, funds and incentives that allow for the development of initiatives

business, reinsertion of educational partner, training and professional requalification,

among others, which guarantee a full reintegration into Portugal of the citizens

returned after professional and family experiences checked abroad.

Palace S. Bento, November 2, 2009

The Deputies of the PSD