A bold new proposal threatening major headaches for EU leaders has come out of this week’s 11th conference of Portuguese speaking countries (CPLP) taking place in Brazil. The idea is for the 250 million people within the community to have free circulation in CPLP countries. Angola is against the idea, while “European partners” fear a new invasion of foreigners. Portugal’s prime minister António Costa is behind the idea which has the support of President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Talking to Lusa President Marcelo said the proposal was “ambitious, because other communities have not achieved this” and “difficult, because each on of us is in our own space.
“Portugal is in the space of the EU, where we have Schengen”, he explained. “Our brothers are in African space, and Brazil is within the Economic Market of the South (Mercosul). To make these various spaces compatible is not easy, but it can be done through small advances”.
Countries that make up the CPLP are Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé e Princípe and East Timor.
