“Firstly, we most profoundly regret but we still respect the decision of the British people. Today is a sad day, it is a bad day for Europe but Europe simply has to move forward,” Santos Silva told Lusa News Agency.
The Foreign Minister added that Portugal had a “very strong” community in the country and reiterated that “the interests of the community will be protected and defended by the Portuguese authorities.”
In turn, Vitalino Canas, a members of the ruling minority Socialist Party, said that his party was not satisfied with the referendum but that the European project would move on.
“From the outset, the Socialist Party expressed its desire that the United Kingdom remains in the European Union. With that not happening, we are not satisfied” said Canas before saying that the European Union “might yet be consolidated in the future if we know how to appropriately interpret some of the things that are happening now.”
Canas both called for avoiding any rush to reach hasty, definitive judgements and for speed in the negotiations under EU article 50 over the United Kingdom’s departure.
“This phase of negotiation should, in my opinion, take as little time as possible. It matters to Europe and the United Kingdom that there is clarity in its relations and the parties will seek, to the extent such is possible, to protect their interests,” the MP explained.
Pointing to how the United Kingdom had always been reticent about more pro-integrated European measures and had refused to sign up to the Schengen agreement, for example, Canas said that negotiations would take place at the European Union level as well as bilaterally before adding that for Portuguese citizens living in the UK the result only meant “uncertainty and concern.”
As a UK citizen who is living in Portugal, I am deeply saddened by the amount of people who did not or would not see through the blatant lies of that buffoon and the court jester that help to make up the Brexit campaign, this result has only happened because of scare campaigns made up by some idiots, they are like the tea party of America, what's more both the buffoon and jester are both immigrants themselves. For myself I was one of those who signed up to a United Europe back in the seventies and I stand by that, we are better off in Europe, the out campaigns have just wiped out 40 years of goodwill and knocked billions off the stock market and our pensions that we have paid into all our working lives for a better future. 10% has been wiped off our pensions alone and that is not going to made up any time soon. Immigration is good for all countries and is what Europe was based on. We don't want to become rasists and we definitely want peace throughout the world but this divide is going to cost the UK, the United kingdom is fastley being dragged down and will not be united for long.
By Linda from Algarve on 28 Jun 2016, 10:30
What a load of rubbish Linda.
I have a property in the Algarve, I love the country and the people, but if you lived in an area in the UK as I do surrounded by east european immigrants from several countries who bring their wars with each other over to us, you would vote out. It is not unusual for children to be harassed or snatched off the streets. Rapes, both to men and women and knifing etc. They crowd round the streets drinking so that local residents darn't go out of their front doors, their rubbish is strewn all over the streets. They have also been escorted out of several super markets for shop lifting or purse snatching. The Portuguese who live around here and have businesses are great and are very welcome. They show respect which a lot of the eastern migrants don't seem to know the meaning of.
By Babs from UK on 30 Jun 2016, 15:09