Serving the Community as an Elected Member of Portuguese Parliament’s Diaspora Advisory Council (and some other useful information)
1. What is the “Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas?”
The following has been adopted from the Portuguese Foreign Ministry Portal and translated into English for the benefit of the North American constituency.
Created by Law No. 66-A / 2007, of 11 December, amended and republished by Law No. 29/2015, of 16 April, the Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP) is the Government’s advisory body for policies relating to emigration and Portuguese communities abroad.
Gabriel Marques and the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the Palace of Belem, 2016
The CCP issues opinions, at the request of the Government or the Assembly of the Republic, on draft laws and proposals and other draft legislative and administrative acts, as well as on international or community normative agreements concerning Portuguese communities living abroad and responsible for:
- Questions put to it by the Regional Governments of the Azores or Madeira regarding the Portuguese communities from those autonomous regions;
- Produce information and issue opinions, on its own initiative, on all matters that concern Portuguese residents abroad and the development of the Portuguese presence in the world, and direct them to the Government member responsible for the areas of emigration and Portuguese communities;
- Formulate proposals and recommendations on the objectives and application of policy principles for Portuguese communities. The CCP is composed of a maximum of 80 members, elected by Portuguese citizens residing abroad who are voters for the Assembly of the Republic. The directors’ term of office lasts for four years or until elections have been approved by Parliament.
Council Organization
The CCP is composed of a maximum of 80 members, elected by Portuguese citizens residing abroad who are voters for the Assembly of the Republic.The directors’ term of office lasts for four years or until elections have been approved by Parliament.
The Council functions in plenary, in permanent council, in thematic commissions, in regional councils, in sections and subsections.
The 80 elected members constitute the plenary of the Council.
Gabriel Marques prior to a joint-session of Parliament and the CCP, 2018
The Council ordinarily meets in plenary, once per mandate, and extraordinarily when, for particularly relevant reasons, this is justified.
Duties of the Counselors of the Portuguese Communities
- Attend meetings of the Council where they sit and of the Commissions that may be created and to which they belong;
- Contribute to the proper functioning of the referred meetings, as well as participate in the respective votes in the deliberations;
- Contribute to the adequate performance of the powers attributed to the Board;
- Cooperate with institutions or entities in the host countries in matters of interest to Portuguese communities.
And occasionally… have some fun promoting our culture and heritage.
Rights of the Counselors of the Portuguese Communities
- Intervene in debates, present proposals and vote;
- Request, in writing, clarifications from the holders of consular posts in the electoral circles for which they were elected;
- Meet semiannually with the holders of diplomatic missions and consular posts;
- Meet, at least once a year, at the Portuguese Embassy, with technicians and diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to exchange information on issues of importance to the country and to Portuguese communities in areas such as education, social issues, economics , associativism, culture, among others;
- Request, in writing, through the member of the Government responsible for the areas of emigration and Portuguese communities, to the various services dependent on the Portuguese State abroad, for information on issues related to Portuguese communities and emigration.
Gabriel Marques testifying in committee during the joint-sessions of Parliament and the CCP, 2019
DID YOU KNOW: The CCP Has its own website, which is curated by the elected council independent of the Portuguese Government. To be directed to the CCP Portal, please Click Here.
2. Election to the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas
After my success in reviving the Mineola Portuguese Soccer Club and creating the New York Portuguese American Leadership Council (NYPALC), top-level Portuguese Government officials asked me to campaign for a seat on the Portuguese Government’s 80-member Diaspora Advisory Council (Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas or CCP), to represent the 250,000 Portuguese-Americans living in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and the Caribbean as an official liaison.
I was elected by community leaders at the Consulate of Portugal in New York on September 15, 2015.
In January of 2016, I officially took office and was sworn in to his new role by Consul-General Pedro Oliveira at the Consulate of Portugal in Newark, New Jersey.
For the 2016-17 term, I served as President of the Portuguese Government’s Regional Advisory Council on Communities in North America, before dedicating my time exclusively to the Advisory Committee on Economic Development, Social and Immigration issues.
President Gabriel Marques leads debate at Parliament during committee meeting of the Regional Commission of Portuguese Communities in North America CRAN, 2016
3. Tax-Guide for Portuguese Citizens Living Abroad
While serving as Secretary on the Advisory Committee on Economic Development, Social and Immigration issues during the 2018 session, our entire Council would realize one of the most significant achievements when I co-sponsored the creation of a tax guide for Portuguese citizens living abroad with my colleague Manuel Cardia Lima from Lyon, France.
To access the tax guide for a specific country or region, please click here.
Gabriel Marques testifies before the Portuguese National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee in 2018 Regarding the Need of a Tax Guide for Portuguese Citizens Living Abroad.
A year later, when the tax guide would be made public by the Portuguese AT (IRS), a message published in the guide from the Portuguese Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities and the Secretary of State of Tax Affairs (page 4 of the guide) would recognize the CCP efforts:
“The geographical distance that separates Portugal from its Communities is invariably proportional to the identity, cultural and sentimental proximity of fellow citizens who make up. However, this distance is often a very big challenge in concerning the transmission of information.
“The work we have been doing together of Portuguese Communities around the world allows us to identify areas in which that the Portuguese State can deepen its performance and this project is one of excellent example.
Gabriel Marques Reading a Brief at Portuguese Parliament, 2019
“Over the past few years, the various contacts with the Portuguese Community, whether in person in the most diverse geographies, through the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas, Diaspora meetings and the Dialogues with the Community initiative, allowed us to identify a number of taxation issues that are recurrent and that the emigrants transmitted to us have difficulties in clarifying.In this context, we believe that the launching of the most useful and most basic justice of this tax guide for Portuguese communities.”
To access the tax guide for a specific country or region, please click here.
5. Portuguese Government Quick Reference Guide
The Portuguese Government can be a difficult maze of politics and bureaucracy to navigate.
Gabriel Marques' Nameplate During CCP Session in the Portuguese Senate Chambers, 2019.
To this end, the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas regularly makes available the contact information for several of the more important resources available to people, organizations and companies looking to communicate with the Government of Portugal.
President of Portugal (Presidente da Republica): [email protected]
Prime Minister of Portugal (Primeiro-Ministro): [email protected]
Foreign Minister (Ministro dos Negocios Estrangeiros): [email protected]
Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities: [email protected]
Director-General for Portuguese Consular Services: [email protected]
Office of the Conselho das Comunidades Portuguesas: [email protected]
Embassy of Portugal to the United States, Washington: [email protected]