Socialist leader António Costa said this weekend that Portugal would have to look back to 1966, almost 50 years ago, to find an equal number of emigrants as left the country in 2013.
The general secretary of the PS today called for Europe-wide anti-migration measures from the periphery countries to the centre of Europe, citing recent reports about the German need for 500,000 foreign workers, and wants a way of keeping qualified young people in Portugal.
"When Germany says it needs 500,000 new immigrants, we can also say that we need 500,000 new jobs. The freedom of movement of labour must be accompanied by creating jobs and employment. If not, the European Union is not strengthened and will become increasingly fragile," said Costa.
The leader was speaking at a conference in Lisbon that included video links to Portuguese emigrants around the world.
Delegates at ‘Portugal has a Future’ discussed the huge difference between the freedom to move and the need to emigrate.
Costa spoke about the movement of labour as a large process of adjustment happening within the eurozone, a massive emigration from the southern economies towards the few economies that actively benefit from the operation of the single currency.
The situation is a "huge challenge from an economic point of view but also a terrible demographic challenge, because over the last four years, 9% of the population under 30 and 13% of the population aged 20 to 29 years, has left Portugal.”
"Contrary to what the Prime Minister said, most qualified young people should not ‘leave Portugal because they have no future.’
Comments
As in the days of the Inquisition and of PIDE, there are too many Portuguese in positions of authority whose sole purpose is to interfere in the lives and activities of other people. Portugal has still not emerged from its era of state supervision, and those at the top of the political tree such as Costa still benefit too much from the status quo.
Costa´s question should be: why do foreign companies not invest in Portugal?
That the EU was intended to be a dynamo of change. Not, as it has turned out in Portugal - a silted up pond of stagnation.
The local dynamo's of change in every concelho have either given up in disgust and left or been bought off and muzzled by the local VIP's and the municipal.
Given small contracts now and again without any competitive tender - just to keep them quiet.
And - as we still hear with the B & B regulations (alojamento local) - still intential delays and hindrance to keep foreigners out of Portugal's economy.
For a tourism activity that in a developed country would take no more than half a day to be licensed.
Clearly - as with Greece - a period out of the euro is needed to wake up Portugal's VIP's. The 'shock' of having to repatriate and declare their off-shore stolen millions into the old currency might help us all move forward!