European Commissioner for Justice stresses that Portugal needs to invest more in the sector. He argues that the laws once approved should be put into practice. He wants a more sustainable Europe and therefore advises consumers to opt for repairing objects instead of buying new ones. He spoke of financial support for the country and investigations into war crimes. And he leaves messages about the attribution of Portuguese nationality and the attribution of gold visas.
You met with the Minister of Justice, Catarina Sarmento e Castro, and were in Parliament. What were the reasons for these meetings?
I came to Portugal to discuss the problems of the rule of law [European Commission annual report]. We are organising a cycle on the rule of law with the document we have been publishing since 2020 and whose fourth edition will be known on 5 July. It will be the first time we have an assessment on the implementation of the recommendations that we published for all member states for the first time last year. The idea is not just to discuss this in the Commission, because it is an assessment made after many consultations, country visits and discussions with all those involved.
Is this document a wake-up call for countries?
It is important that we discuss the report. It is a preventive instrument to try to avoid the emergence or deterioration of some problems in the Rule of Law. And, more than that, it is an instrument to try to install a culture on the rule of law in all member states. We have to make sure that there is a debate at the national level about the recommendations that we have put in the report and ways to implement the recommendations.
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