João Albuquerque, 35, born in Barreiro, Setúbal district, is one of the youngest MEPs and wants to use his mandate to focus on the issues of the younger generation, namely employment and housing issues, as well as environmental issues, fisheries issues, an important sector for our region. Ranked 11th on the PS list in the last European elections, he took office in mid-September after Manuel Pizarro left the European Parliament to take over as health minister. João Albuquerque, who graduated in political science and international relations from the University of Nova de Lisboa and a master’s degree in history, defense and international relations from ISCTE-IUL, was the president of the European Socialist Youth and has worked in a wide variety of fields for the past 15 years, most recently he was Deputy Minister of the Interior and Assistant Vice President of the European Parliament. The new MEP is a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs.

Florindo Cardoso

Setubal Mays – What is your experience in the European Parliament?
Joao Albuquerque – Accepting the mandate of a member of the European Parliament is a huge privilege and opportunity, which I will try to respond with hard work and dedication. The areas of work that I have taken on are very diverse and range from fishing, a very important topic for the Setúbal district, to employment and social rights, including environment and culture, where I am the only Portuguese MP. Fortunately, I have already had the opportunity to get to know the European Parliament from different points of view and in other roles, which has accelerated this transitional period. The current focus is on balancing European political work with the interests, priorities and needs of the people of Setúbal. This will always be my commitment throughout this term.

Setúbal Mais – As one of the youngest MEPs, what is your message to young Portuguese at this very difficult moment?
Joao Albuquerque – The moment when we live is really very difficult for everyone. The past few years have been marked by several socio-economic crises, the most prominent being the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But, as always, these crises mostly affect young people, who tend to be among the most vulnerable segments of the population.
From the perspective of a young population, observing the world around us can be a torturous exercise. The uncertainty that we have about the real impact of the climate crisis, the insecurity of the labor market and the high unemployment or very high rates of mental illness, especially among young people, are forcing us to look for solutions focused on these areas.. My main concern at the moment is to try to ensure that the energy crisis we are experiencing, which is difficult to resolve, does not represent a setback in the environmental commitments made by the European Union and the world’s major economies. In addition, we must ensure that the energy transition is accompanied by instruments that support the most vulnerable and do not worsen their already fragile economic situation. The same goes for creating decent working conditions and increasing the job offer for young people. And finally, continue to work towards ensuring a European strategy focused on mental health. We must recognize that mental and psychological problems require the same attention as those we traditionally recognize in the field of health.

Setubal Mais. When he took office, he focused on employment and social justice as priority areas. What are you going to do?
Joao Albuquerque – As part of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, of course, the priority will be to take care of access to the labor market and guarantee decent working conditions. A very specific example is a study I did in the field of remote work. We cannot allow the market to use the power and flexibility that telecommuting provides to restrict workers’ rights or increase employers’ control over their work.
For young people, access to the labor market is often through one or more professional internships. It is unacceptable that internships continue to be unpaid and young people perpetuate themselves in a volatile job market. A group of socialists in the European Parliament worked tirelessly to ban unpaid internships, as well as to introduce a European minimum wage mechanism.
But employment is joined by other priorities that pass through the Commission on Employment and Social Rights. One of the main obstacles to youth emancipation today is access to decent and affordable housing. Since this is not within the purview of the Union, it is still important and possible to implement the development of guidelines and recommendations to regulate the housing market in Europe and to create conditions for equitable access. by junior. This will be an area where I intend to dedicate an important part of my political activity, because I feel that this is one of the areas that most conditions the independence of young people, as well as the opportunity to start a family. Decent, affordable and sustainable housing are the three key requirements that will guide my work in the European Parliament in this area.