After months of agonising queues at Lisbon airport (since the implementation of the EU’s new entry/ exit system at border control), Portugal’s government has taken the initiative: The European border control system for non-EU citizens will be suspended for three months at the airport, which will be reinforced “immediately” by GNR agents.
What changed to bring this 180º about-turn? Well, it may well have had something to do with the blistering ‘open letter’ sent to the prime minister by Portuguese ‘VIP’ Miguel Guedes de Sousa, featured yesterday.
Whatever the ‘straw’ was that broke the camel’s back of dithering, it will be gratefully received by all operators within the tourism/ investment and business sectors: the problems of getting in and out of the country if people didn’t happen to have a European passport were long past giving Portugal a ‘bad name’. They were in danger of putting people off coming here altogether.
In a statement justifying its decision, the government (in the form of the Ministry of Internal Administration, alluded to “the worsening of constraints in the arrivals area” for non-European passengers from outside the Schengen area, due to the evolution of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES).
“Considering the need to implement and reinforce the contingency measures defined in September so that it is possible to achieve in the arrivals area the reduction in times already achieved in the departures area,” the government has determined “the immediate suspension for three months of the application of the EES computer system, under European regulations” at Lisbon airport”, said the ministry – adding that GNR personnel with certified training in border control will be drafted in immediately.
“The capacity of electronic and physical equipment for external border control will (also) be increased by around 30% to the maximum supported by the current airport infrastructure”, the statement concluded.
People often wonder what it means to be a VIP. Now we all know! But because it is the pantomime season, there always has to be someone who stamps their feet – and this time it is PS (Socialist) leader José Luís Carneiro who has accused the government of “lack of preparation and incompetence” (something that could be said to characterise most government departments).
Mr Carneiro has called for “explanations from the prime minister on risks for security” (security being the reason for the strict new border controls coming into being in the first place).
With the prime minister on holiday until Friday, it may be that Mr Carneiro has to wait for his explanations until then.
Source: LUSA
