This proposal, signed by CDS leader Paulo Núncio and MP João Almeida, is being put forward separately from the PSD’s changes to the same legislation, and Parliament is due to reconsider the decree in plenary on Wednesday, 16 September.

The legislation was originally approved in April by PSD, CDS and Chega, with the PS, Livre, PCP, BE and PAN voting against it while IL and JPP abstained. It was subsequently sent to President António José Seguro for promulgation, but he returned it to Parliament without signing it on 10 June.

In his veto message, Seguro raised concerns about several aspects of the legislation, including the distinction it made between humanitarian causes and political or party positions, questioning the use of terms such as “ideological flag” and “associative flag”, arguing that they were not clearly defined and could lead to uncertainty over how the law would be applied.

Article removal

The CDS proposal removes Article 4, which set out which flags would not be permitted in public buildings or spaces, and that provision had stated that flags other than those recognised by the legislation could not be displayed, including those of an “ideological, political or associative” nature.

Furthermore, it also ruled out flags of foreign origin, except when used as part of official diplomatic or protocol events.

Rather than maintaining a separate list of prohibited flags, the CDS now proposes changing Article 3 to state that only certain flags may be displayed, such as the Portuguese and European Union flags, as well as institutional and heraldic flags belonging to the State, autonomous regions, local authorities, public entities, the Armed Forces and security forces, where legally recognised or provided for in regulations.

The party says the change aims to preserve the original objective of preventing ideological flags from being displayed on public buildings, while addressing the concerns raised by the President.

Enforcement regulations

Under the new legislation, the GNR and PSP would monitor compliance within their respective territorial areas, while administrative authorities would investigate offences and impose fines.

Meanwhile, the PSD has submitted a separate proposal that goes further in responding to Seguro’s objections by allowing flags representing international commitments undertaken by Portugal to be displayed during official initiatives, commemorations or campaigns organised or recognised by public authorities, provided they are not political-party or electoral in nature.

Following the reconsideration on Wednesday, the amended legislation will return to Seguro, who can then promulgate it, veto it again or refer it to the Constitutional Court.

As reported by Lusa, the CDS and PSD proposals take different approaches to addressing the concerns that led to the presidential veto, even though both seek to retain restrictions on displaying non-institutional flags in public buildings.