Introduction
Francisco José Pereira de Assis Miranda (born 8 January 1965 in Amarante) is a Portuguese politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialist Party; part of the Party of European Socialists from 2004 to 2009, and again from 2014.
Political career
Role in national politics
Assis challenged incumbent António José Seguro for the party leadership in 2011.
When the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho lost its outright majority in parliament as a result of the 2015 national elections, Assis condemned "leftwing fantasies" within his Socialist Party, describing any attempt at an agreement with the anti-euro Communists and the radical left as "absurd". However, on 24 November, Socialist leader António Costa was appointed as Prime Minister after forming a parliamentary alliance with three euroskeptic far-left parties. Assis has since been publicly voicing his staunch opposition against the new coalition agreement.
Member of the European Parliament, 2014–present
Ahead of the 2014 European elections, the Socialist Party named Assis at the top of their list. Following the elections, he became a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Human Rights. He is also the chairman of the parliament’s delegation for relations with Mercosur.
Assis has been a political commentator for TV programs SIC Notícias and TVI 24.