Estado Sentido

The Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists published a brief article on the recent statements by German politicians on Portuguese political decisions, with a reference to our letter:

«Martin Schulz and Angela Merkel have angered the Portuguese authorities in recent days with their comments about the actions of Portuguese officials. In a debate in Brussels' Solvay Library on 1st February, Schulz, President of the European Parliament, criticised the Portuguese Prime Minister's trip to Angola in November 2011, saying, “That is the future of Portugal, a decline, also a social danger for people, if we do not understand that economically, and above all with our stable democratic model together with our economic stability, we will only stand a chance within the framework of the EU”. The debate was aired on German television channel Phoenix on Sunday night. Nuno Melo, Partido Popular MEP, said that Mr Schulz's comments revealed "ignorance and prejudice".

Watch the video of Schulz's comments here (at the bottom of the page).

At a lecture given in Berlin on Tuesday, the German Chancellor criticised the Portuguese application of EU structural funds in Madeira. She said,“Those who have been to Madeira can see where the European structural funds were applied. There are plenty of nice tunnels and motorways, but that didn’t contribute towards increasing competitiveness“. Meanwhile, German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble was filmed in conversation with Portuguese finance minister Vítor Gaspar hinting at a second Portuguese bailout.

Three Portuguese bloggers, a political scientist and two historians, have reacted to these comments with 'An open letter to Europe', highlighting the double standards and hypocrisy of Merkel and Schulz's comments.»