Speaking in an interview on Portuguese broadcaster RTP, António Guterres said that “it is not a dramatic impact for Portuguese society” to receive 4,000 people, after being asked whether the country had the conditions to do so.
“What matters is that the government and local councils can organise the activity and ensure the integration of the 4,000 migrants. It is a problem that has to be resolved, but it is not a dramatic impact on Portuguese society”, he said.
António Guterres told the interviewer he was “impressed” with the solidarity mobilisation by Portuguese society and the creation of an aid platform for the refugees that involves all the most credible organisations in the country.
“There is no way to respond to a crisis of this dimension if every country acts alone and takes decisions only taking into account their own interests”, António Guterres added.