Elections will be “complicated” and marked “by isms – nationalisms, populisms, which are reduced to selfishness”. This, in itself, is reason enough for those who believe in the European project to mobilize to vote in the European Elections this Sunday, 26 May, believes Sofia Colares Alves, head of the Representation of the European Commission in Portugal.
Within a few days, the Portuguese are called to choose their representatives in the European Parliament and, as Sofia Colares Alves defended, in an interview with Sul Informação, everyone should take the opportunity to go to the polls, to exercise their civic right and duty.
Because, warns the head of the Representation of the European Commission in Portugal, the European Union is not a distant reality, as some citizens see it.
“60% of the legislation that applies in Portugal is made in the EU. Many of the infrastructure, opportunities, schools and social inclusion projects are or have been funded by the EU. It's a matter of realizing that it's not just the people in Brussels or Strasbourg who make the Union. We, as citizens, make an important contribution, even if it is by voting and giving our opinion», he believes.
The ballot will take place at a time when the Brexit stalemate continues (in the UK, Elections are taking place this Thursday) and when there is an increase in voting intentions in extremist parties, many of which are anti-European.
“There is that fantasy that we, in the past, when there were borders, we lived better. Basically, it is a longing for something that never existed. People are painting the past pink, when it wasn't like that», framed Sofia Colares Alves.
There are even polls that indicate “that groups with nationalist and populist tendencies will represent close to 20% of MEPs, which is already a very large political force. And we are talking about anti-European Union parties».
"The only answer that citizens who want to see the European project continue and who want to build this Europe of ours can give is to mobilize themselves to vote in the European Elections," added the head of the European Commission Representation in Portugal.
For this responsible, "there is no plan B for the European Union, much less for a smaller country like Portugal."
Even so, there are those who argue that Portugal would be better off without the European Union, an idea that, for Sofia Alves, «is easily dismantled».
“Just read some studies or consult economic data regarding the evolution of GDP per capita in Portugal, how it has increased since 1987 and the OECD indicators for almost everything – literacy, school dropout, poverty reduction, etc.», he said.
The visit of the head of the Representation of the European Commission in Portugal to the Algarve, an occasion taken advantage of by the Sul Informação to interview her, served to pass the message to young people that they "just have to seize the opportunities that the European Union gives them".
“It seems clear to me. I haven't heard many people questioning the benefits of Portugal joining the European Union. We benefited not only in economic terms, but also in terms of the consolidation of democratic values, which, at the time, were absolutely essential”, concluded Sofia Alves.
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