Ana Catarina Mendes took this position in the Assembly of the Republic, at the opening of the debate on the draft presidential decree that extends the state of emergency in Portugal for another 15 days, until 17 April.

"Two weeks after the declaration of the state of emergency, all the reasons that led to its validity and the need for all precautions in its execution remain," said the president of the PS Parliamentary Group, in an intervention in which she also said that on 2 April 44 years have passed since the approval of the 1976 Constitution.

In her speech, Ana Catarina Mendes defended that the country "is being able to act politically based on scientific evidence, leaving the health authorities the irreplaceable role of defining the guidelines to fight the scourge and the Government the role of to lead the political response, both in terms of public health and in measures to mitigate the economic and social effects of this pandemic".

"The prime minister said 15 days ago that democracy was not suspended - and it is not. It never hurts to underline the involvement of parliament, parliamentary leaders and party leaders in monitoring the situation," she said.

In this context, Ana Catarina Mendes said that there is an awareness that the state of emergency entails risks, but that in Portugal "there are reasons not to fear its instrumentalisation for purposes outside the strictly necessary - something that cannot be said in relation to what passes in some of the Member States of the European Union".

At the European level, the president of the PS Parliamentary Group considered that the European Union "is testing these times".

"And if the leaders of the different governments are not above the petty national short-term visions, they will be the gravediggers of the European ideal. We are proud of the battle and the frontality that the Portuguese Government and the Prime Minister, António Costa, have taken with the partners. We need joint action within the European framework", she stressed.

In the economic and social plan, Ana Catarina Mendes defended that the economy and, above all, people, are being protected ".

"We will do everything in our power so that this crisis does not increase social inequalities to a level where social cohesion is jeopardized. Therefore, in an emergency situation, we guarantee immigrants and refugees the rights that give them the same protection of national citizens. We have not let ourselves be infected by the fear that responds to the crisis with xenophobic statements of closure and exclusion", she added.