Africa-Press – Mozambique. Portugal’s prime minister on Thursday rejected the application in the country of a mandatory vaccination law against Covid-19, as happens in some European member states, and spoke out against flight restrictions to countries like Mozambique.
These positions were conveyed by António Costa in the first debate of the Permanent Commission of the parliament, after President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, dissolved the parliament and called early legislative elections for 30 January.
In a debate on the agenda of the European Council of 15 and 16 December in Brussels, deputies such as Isabel Meireles (PSD), João Cotrim Figueiredo (Iniciativa Liberal) and André Ventura (Chega) asked the prime minister if Portugal accepts to apply a European directive concerning the mandatory vaccination against Covid-19, In his reply, Costa said that Portugal understood that there should be no compulsory vaccination.
“Fortunately, in our country, this discussion makes no sense. If in other countries this question arises, it is an internal debate to those countries. It makes no sense that there is a European decision that covers countries like ours, where, without any obligation, we have managed to achieve a virtually universal vaccination,” he said.
In this issue related to the fight against Covid-19, following the criticisms made by the PCP parliamentary leader, João Oliveira, to the attempt of isolation of Southern Africa by the European Union, because of the new Omicron variant, António Costa once again distanced himself from measures taken at a European level.
“We are not in favour of flight restrictions, nor do we believe that they are an effective measure. As we gain more consolidated knowledge about what the new variant is, we believe that the European Union should adjust the measures adopted to the evolution of the knowledge it consolidates in the meantime”, he said.
Then, in this context, the leader of the Portuguese government considered it unacceptable that the ban on flights to Mozambique remains in place.
“The situation in Mozambique in no way justifies such a measure. On the contrary, the experience of humanitarian flights that we have carried out shows that these flights, associated with the obligation of tests, is the most effective mechanism to detect people who are infected and asymptomatic,” Costa said.
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