Chega will propose a ban on the entry of migrants from countries affected by the conflict in the Middle East, in addition to VAT exemption for essential food items and a temporary mechanism to reduce the price of fuel.
At a press conference, the leader of Chega announced that the party will propose “a suspension of the entry of asylum requests into Europe, coming from the Middle East”, namely from Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, in order to avoid a new “migration crisis” following the military attack against Iran.
André Ventura justified that these areas are “highly destabilized again and it was precisely these countries that caused the migration crisis of 2014 and 2015, which is still being paid for to a large extent due to there being no control” and argued that “Europe will not be able to handle another wave of refugees of this type without systemic political movements”.
According to the deputy, Chega will present this proposal in the Assembly of the Republic, at the same time that the European group of Patriots for Europe will advance in the European Parliament.
FirstAndré Ventura said that the proposal aims for the measure to be in force for six months but, later on, he admitted that it could be extended “as long as necessary while the area is unstable”.
And he admitted exceptions: “Absolutely inescapable cases of humanitarian situations, such as women persecuted by regimes or political opponents fleeing political persecution.”
Anticipating an increase in fuel prices and inflation, Chega will also propose that the “temporary mechanism for reducing the tax on petroleum products”, adopted following the war in Ukraine, be reintroduced “at the end of this month”.
Ventura defended that the discount on the Tax on Petroleum Products be used to “contain the costs to the taxpayer of the increase in oil prices”.
This measure would be “exceptional and transitory in nature” and “an automatic reversal mechanism when prices stabilize, ensuring transparency regarding its budgetary impact”, and would be “indexed to an objective reference of international prices”, he explained.
Chega also wants essential foods to be exempt from VAT again.
Amending budget “increasingly unavoidable”
Speaking to journalists, the president of Chega considered that the presentation of an amending budget by the Government is “increasingly unavoidable” given the “need for new financial instruments to respond to the energy crisis and the inflationary crisis”.
“It is something that I hope can happen soon and that the Government can announce at least briefly what measures it hopes to take to achieve this. If nothing is done, we will have an uncontrolled increase in fuel prices in the coming weeks, both in Portugal and in the rest of Europe, and in the next month or two we will have a very significant increase in the prices of essential goods”, warned.
Chega will schedule a debate in parliament about these measures and André Ventura indicated that the party will accept that proposals from other parties are also discussed.
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