They were in Sagres, in Portimão and in Faro, just under a year away from the European Elections which will be «a challenge». A delegation of six PS MEPs was last Friday, July 14, in the Algarve, with the aim of «recalling the importance of European integration and EU funds for the development of the country and the region».
The itinerary began with a visit to the Costa Vicentina cycle path, followed by a trip to the Discoveries Multimedia Center in the Fortress of Sagres.
In the afternoon, the parliamentarians were at the Sunboat company, in Portimão, at the Clinical Simulation Center of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Algarve (Faro), at the Center for Artisans and Creativity in Loulé and at the Socialist Forum “The Europe of people and regions”.
Speaking to journalists, Pedro Silva Pereira, one of the MEPs present, gave a «very positive» assessment of the roadmap.
Vice-President of the European Parliament, the socialist also considered that the next European Elections, which will take place on June 9, 2024, will be "a very particular challenge".
«The fact that they happen [in Portugal] on that date, in the middle of a big weekend, on the eve of a holiday... It is necessary to make an additional effort to mobilize people to vote», he explained.
In the opinion of Pedro Silva Pereira, «the Government is doing well to find alternative forms of voting, including mobile voting, but, more important, is that people understand that what is being played in these elections is decisive».
Because, he defended, what is at stake «is whether we are going to consent to the growth of the extreme right opposing the European project or whether we are going to protect that same project».
With visits like this, the objective is really to remind people of the «importance of European integration in Portugal and of community funds for the development of the country and the region».
When visiting the Algarve, MEPs found that «the money is being well spent and that it is allowing for a qualitative leap in the region's development conditions».
Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, another of the MEPs present, also made a "very positive" assessment of the visit.
«It was a good day when Europe was in the Algarve with its people, its researchers and the entrepreneurs who take risks in their daily lives», he concluded.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação and Socialist Party
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