The European Commission has said it will ask Portuguese authorities for “more details” regarding the suspension announced yesterday of the European border control system for non-EU citizens at Lisbon airport.
According to a report by state news agency Lusa, Brussels is under the impression that the decision is “unrelated to problems with the implementation of this system”. Indeed, SIC Notícias stresses that the government has ‘indicated to the European Commission that the suspension of the system has been brought in to accommodate restructuring work at the country’s principal airport.
“We will contact the Portuguese authorities to ask for more details about their plans,” European Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podesta told the news agency yesterday after ‘critics’ have complained that the suspension could put national security ‘at risk’.
With PS Socialist leader José Luís Carneiro already highly critical of the decision, police stationed at the terminal also say they find the government’s decision ‘strange’.
Paulo Santos, leader of the Police Professionals Trade Union Association (ASPP/ PSP), explained that problems that have led to queues stretching into several hours at border controls ‘are not due to lack of personnel’ but a lack of structural working conditions – a failing attributed to airport manager ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, for not having created conditions for a passenger flow “that it already knew would exist”.
The union leader also criticised the government for “once again whitewashing” the situation in which police officers perform duties at the airport, say he fears that the reinforcement of GNR personnel may, at a time of union struggle, be used as a “weapon” to show that another security force can take on responsibilities that currently belong to the PSP.
source: LUSA
