Portugal without political representation at the Winter Olympics
This Monday confirmed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva.
Portugal will not have political representation at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Winter Olympics, “for reasons”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, revealed today.
“Portugal political representation at the opening ceremony or opening ceremony, and we are coordinated with the other European states in this matter, but we will not have political representation at the opening ceremony or opening ceremony”, declared the head of Portuguese diplomacy.
Santos Silva, who spoke to journalists after participating in a meeting of the EU’s foreign ministers, justified his absence with “various reasons”, from “the political moment in Portugal” to the “sense of unity of the European Union” in the “current circumstances”, also admitting the weight of the fact that the Winter Olympic Games are not, “from a sporting point of view, «the alpha omega» of sport”.
After, last week, the European Parliament called for a diplomatic and political boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, in the face of China’s attempts to “legitimize its authoritarian system”, Santos Silva confirmed that “there is a coordination that It’s doing [entre os 27], is evidently all the interests of each Member State”.
“For example, that some European States represent themselves at the level of minister of sports sports. The decision is a national one, we always agree on positions and that is what we are doing”, he said.
As for the Portuguese, she then attributed it to the “sense of unity proper to the EU and also what is typical of non-confrontational diplomacy that Portugal has a practical position”, returning to record the “political moment that is being lived in Portugal, and that will be lived in the coming weeks”, with the implementation of legislative laws next Sunday, January 30th.
“We understand that a representation at the ministerial or member of the Government level would not be an appropriate solution”, he concluded.
Several countries, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia, among others, announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games, without harming the participation of competitors from these countries, to denounce alleged human rights violations in China, and others Thursday. the European Parliament also recommended to Member States a “diplomatic and political boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics”, which took place between 4 and 20 February.