This initiative by José Pedro Aguiar-Branco consists of a missive sent today to the presidents of the parliamentary groups and to the PAN deputy, as well as to the "vice" of the parliament and members of the board on the agenda of the next meeting of the leaders' conference.

According to his proposal, at the beginning of this leaders' conference, "the issue of the scope and limits of the freedom of expression of the members of parliament and its possible compatibility with the establishment of red lines will be addressed".

An issue that arose on Friday morning, in plenary, after the leader of Chega, André Ventura, referred to the working capacities of the Turkish people in connection with the construction of the new Lisbon airport, which led the BE, Livre and PS benches to defend the intervention of the president of the parliament to prevent this type of speech, which they considered "xenophobic".

In the missive sent to the different parliamentary groups, to which the Lusa agency had access, the reason for José Pedro Aguiar-Branco's proposal to hear former presidents of the Constitutional Court at the leaders' conference is justified.

"Considering that the theme in question is of special importance, with implications for the political system, it justifies a detailed analysis from a legal-constitutional point of view. Therefore, the President of the Assembly of the Republic considers it relevant to hear the former presidents of the Constitutional Court so that they can share their reading and possible implications, especially in a context in which the members of parliament benefit from a reinforcement of freedom of expression when they are exercising their functions, through the institute of parliamentary immunities".

Specifically, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco believes that invitations should be addressed to José Manuel Cardoso da Costa, Rui Moura Ramos, Joaquim Sousa Ribeiro, Manuel da Costa Andrade and João Caupers.

"The presence of these illustrious guests would be limited to the discussion of this point and as a mere introduction, the discussion continuing, only with the presence of the members of the leaders' conference", it is noted below in the same note.

In the letter, it is also emphasized that the President of the Assembly of the Republic proposes to bring forward the Leaders' conference from Wednesday to 10:00, "so as not to prejudice the work".

Finally, "a response is requested by 7:00 p.m. today, the silence" of the different benches "being interpreted as acceptance of the proposal".

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