Portugal has pledged 30 million euros for the police and to open two migrant repatriation centers, with capacity for up to 300 people. Financing for the centers will come from Europe's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
Portugal intends to use European funding from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to build two hosting centers for the repatriation of irregular migrants (known as CIT in Portuguese).
The announcement was made last week by Portuguese Minister of the Presidency António Leitão Amaro, who told a press conference that "it is important for the world to know that the open-door policy is over. Portugal does not have the capacity to accommodate foreign citizens and it actually does not repatriate those residing illegally."
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Repatriations and expulsions
According to the minister, the Portuguese government was about to be tried for violating European legislation by allegedly not respecting the rules surrounding the European pact on migration and asylum.
Based on Eurostat's data, Portugal ranks second for the low number of expulsions of irregular migrants.The most recent figures on the third quarter of 2024 showed that 120 expulsion orders were issued by authorities, which was only higher than the orders issued by Slovenia, a country that expelled 80 illegal migrants.
There was also a significant difference between the expulsion orders issued and those that were actually carried out, respectively 340 against the 15 which were actually enforced in the second quarter of 2024, according to the data.
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Investment worth 30 million euros intended for the police
The minister also announced that the construction of the two centers will represent an investment of 30 million euros and will be funded through the NRRP managed directly by police to enhance public security.
The first will be built in Odivelas, a municipality close to Lisbon, while the location of the second has not yet been decided, although it will be in the northern part of the country.
The facilities will be built with a capacity of about 300 people.
In January, Lisbon asked Brussels to authorize a review of the spending plan for NRRP funds eliminating, due to lack of time, some of the most ambitious projects, like the expansion of Lisbon's subway line and the construction of 3,300 low-cost lodgings.