Portuguese government proposes bilateral deal with UK on voting
Portugal proposed to the United Kingdom this Wednesday to draft a bilateral deal on preserving the right to vote for British residents in Portugal, and the Portuguese living in the UK.
Portugal on Wednesday proposed to the UK a future bilateral deal on preserving the right to vote for British residents in Portugal and the Portuguese living in the UK, the Portuguese minister of foreign affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, said on Wednesday.
“Today we submitted to the British authorities a proposal for a bilateral deal to preserve the right of British residents in Portugal and Portuguese residents in the UK to participate electorally, either as voters or as candidates elected in their local elections,” Silva said.
This was announced after an inter-ministerial meeting about a contingency plan for Brexit (UK departure from the European Union) outlined by the Portuguese government, which took place at the official residence of Portugal’s prime minister.
According to Silva, this measure is due to Portugal’s search for approaches related to the “nature of the future relationship” with the UK.
The meeting on Wednesday was scheduled the day after the British parliament had rejected, for the second time, the agreement between London and Brussels for Brexit, scheduled for 29 March.