Francisco Paupério may become the first Livre candidate to reach Brussels, 10 years after the party first ran in the European elections. At 29 years old, the biologist is the second youngest top candidate in the race for the European Parliament, something that does not make him inhibited, despite being aware of the "great responsibility" that he may come to embrace, if elected on June 9, as well as the challenges that he will face in defending the "Left, Ecology and Europeanism" to the detriment of the growth of the far-right and populism. In addition to defending the creation of a European minimum wage, four-day work weeks and 30 days of vacation, Francisco Paupério wants to add a social pillar to the Green Pact, proposes the creation of a European housing plan to ensure that it is more "accessible" and debates the respect for human rights, in the fight for gender equality and minorities, even proposing a "new Common European Asylum System (CEAS)" that respects international laws. It was on these and other issues that the Livre top candidate spoke with Notícias ao Minuto, in an interview that you can now read.

If elected, it will be the first time that Livre has representation in the European Parliament. What responsibilities does this entail, especially at just 29 years old?

It is a great responsibility not only for me but for Livre because for the first time we have the possibility of being elected to the European Parliament, which has been our goal since 2014, since the foundation of Livre, which has as its basic pillars the Left, Ecology and Europeanism. We want to combine all of this in the European Parliament and help to solve challenges such as the climate crisis -  for which we have several proposals - and the growth of the far-right and populism.

The growth of these phenomena shows us once again that in democracy we are failing many people and the far-right is managing to capture much of this discontent. Our message is one of hope and optimism to win over these people and show that in democracy we can also solve problems, hence our desire to present a new Green and Social Pact, which includes a fair ecological and energy transition, that affects everyone, that leaves no one behind and that sends a message that it is possible to make a transition without forgetting people.

And what will be the first major measure that you will want to take to the European Parliament?

I will highlight two. One is from the more structural point of view of the European Parliament. We want to create the Oceans Committee and we even suggest that a Portuguese person could take on this portfolio. We believe that ocean policies are separate. We have fishing in one committee, we have maritime transport in another committee and we do not have integrated policies in the ocean, in the protection of resources, to stimulate the blue economy itself, the development of blue biotechnology. Therefore, we believe that we need to unite this sector of the Ocean in its own economy and give this portfolio to a Portuguese person to position Portugal as a center of European policy, something that we have failed to do in recent years.

But the first proposal and the first idea that we will present as Livre and as European Greens is the proposal for a new development model, the Green and Social Pact. We want it to be obvious from the outset that we must invest in this ecological and energy transition with a focus on people and the social aspect.

For example, a concrete idea that Livre has already presented here in the Assembly of the Republic in this sense and was approved, is the 3C program, to rehabilitate houses. These changes not only reduce the energy bill because the houses are better prepared climatically, as the citizen ends up paying less for electricity at the end of the month, it also often reduces the prices of houses because we have more houses available if there is a massive public investment also in the rehabilitation of abandoned houses and, on the other hand, we isolate Putin because we stop buying energy from Russia.

In other words, we are here having a triple action, an environmental action, a social action and also an action of security and defense of the European Union (EU) and democracy. And it is this type of measure that we will continue to present in the European Parliament and in the National Parliament. Measures that focus on the green part, the social part and the security and strategic autonomy part, without forgetting human rights and the defense of democracy.

I believe that, in Portugal, only Livre has this ecological and environmental aspect associated with the social and inequality aspects, which also matters a lot to me 

Do you support the reform of the Livre primary model? Do you feel that this issue has somehow destabilized the party's campaign for the European elections?

Not at all. We have always had this primary model, it is common in Livre since 2014. I understand  - because it is a transparent and open process - that there is more scrutiny and we also believe that, with the growth of the party, we have paid more attention to this primary process. However, the truth is that it has always happened since 2014. We have different internal preferences, but from the moment the list is made, we unite as a team and become just one team. And this team is committed to electing to the European Parliament. That is what we want.

And do you have the support of the party leader, Rui Tavares?

Yes, I count on Rui Tavares, I count on the leadership, on everyone in the party to fight for this Livre election which, as I said, has been the party's goal since 2014. We are very excited because we now have a real possibility. We were very close in 2014 and in 2019. We were very close to being elected and now we have those conditions. We are very committed and very, very motivated to finally make this Livre representation happen.

Did your professional career as a biologist make you more aware of the mistakes made in environmental policies and arouse your interest in getting involved in a more ecological policy and in Livre?

Yes, without a doubt. I started my non-partisan political career even before my Biology course, especially during the Troika period, when I had two parents who were civil servants who suffered immense salary cuts and this alerted me to the fact that we have to be active citizens and active participants in politics. But it was really in college and in Biology that, by understanding how our ecosystem works, how we are dependent on this biodiversity, and by coming across the lack of political courage to also assume this flag, that I had the impetus to act more closely and join the party life. And I believe that, in Portugal, only Livre has this ecological and environmental aspect associated with the social and inequality aspects, which also matters a lot to me.

Climate change is what will mainly reproduce greater inequalities and Livre - and I specifically  - are very focused on reducing inequalities. Climate change is, basically, a tool for increasing inequalities, we have to fight them to prevent more poverty, prevent more people who do not have opportunities and to prevent the defense of human rights.

We want, in this letter, to put the four-day week, the 35-hour week and the 30 days of vacation, so that it is common practice and a guide to good practices throughout the EU

As you mentioned earlier, Livre wants to streamline a new Green and Social Pact in the European Parliament. What measures are we talking about?

We have several proposals in this sense, for example, to increase the compensation fund for workers affected by this transition, we want to present a letter to the European minimum wage, which was already presented in the other legislature, but we want there to be a plan for convergence of wages at European level. We also want, in this letter, to put the four-day week, the 35-hour week and the 30 days of vacation, so that it is common practice and a guide to good practices throughout the EU.

We also want companies to stimulate the training of their workers, but unlike what they do today, we want them to also provide training for the labor market and for the evolution of the labor market because we believe that this energy transition that is occurring will change some jobs. In fact, we have cases, for example, that of automation, which will eliminate jobs and, in these cases, it becomes more difficult for the worker to find employment after this transition. 

But taking up the energy transition again, we have a challenge here. We have 15 years to comply with 100% renewable energy by 2040, which is the goal of Livre and the European Greens and, in addition, we need to invest in energy change, attract companies linked to the sector in the international market, namely China, which began to have a large investment in these energies and for the US