(Extract)

In the name of the 300 000 European police officers it represents, the European Council of Police Trade Unions (C.E.S.P.) hereby expresses its profound solidarity with the struggle, that has been underway since January 16th, taken on by the Inspectors, Chief Inspectors and Coordinators of the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police (PJ), to defend their socio-professional statute.

C.E.S.P. considers the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police employees’ struggle to be, in essence, identical to that carried out by all European police officers, all over Europe, where unfortunately union battles are fought, not to acquire and improve rights, but to avoid the total loss of social rights established through professional statutes achieved after many years of arduous negotiations and great sacrifice.

Police officers in all the European countries follow the Portuguese PJ’s struggle very closely, and support with all their hearts the defence of their professional statute which is, in many ways, considered a European model.

CESP believes that this violent governmental attack against the professional statute of Portuguese police officers, based on two precedents, one recurrent and inappropriate – the struggle against the public financial deficit – and the other unjust – the struggle against supposed "privileges" of public officials in general and police officers in particular, may carry grave repercussions for European security. (…/…)

Due to all of the above, the European Council of Police Unions demands an explanation from the Portuguese government, while expressing its concerns to the remaining Portuguese sovereign bodies and alerting European instances.