With campaigning at
its height for the European
Parliamentary elections, the ferocity of Russian attacks on Ukraine has
intensified, and allied intelligence officials are now tracking an increase in
Russian low-level sabotage operations in Europe.
The Russian
operations could involve fake polls and propaganda fraud. The sabotaging is
part of an effort to undermine support for Ukraine, according to intelligence
sources. The operations have also involved arson or attempted arson attacks on a
wide range of targets, including a warehouse in England, a paint factory in
Poland, homes in Latvia, and an IKEA store in Lithuania. So far, no such damage
has been reported in Portugal.
Portugal’s Prime Minister,
Luis Montenegro, has been to Berlin for
talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was a very cordial meeting.
“We’re both committed
to making Portuguese-German relations more intense,” said Mr Montenegro.
“We stand close to
many of the challenges posed to Europe,” he said, and went on to praise the
support Germany has been giving to Ukraine to defend itself against the Russian
invasion.
He added that the
Portuguese government was working to reach the “audacious” 2% budget target for
defence expenditure as agreed with NATO. “Our commitment to NATO is full. From
this perspective, we understand that words alone are not enough. This
commitment must be materialised in action.”
The German chancellor
said that Portugal had been “a reliable ally” and “a good friend for the
European Union.” At the end of the meeting it was announced that there would be
boosts to the cultural, economic, and political
relations between the two countries.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr
Zelenskyy, paid a six-hour working visit to Portugal on Tuesday. It was described
as “part of a shared intention to deepen the excellent relations between the
two states, with a particular focus on strengthening cooperation in the field
of security and defence.” Advance voting for the European Parliamentary
elections has just begun (Wednesday May 29). Voting at polling stations will
take place between June 6 and 9. Polling stations in Portugal will be open on
the last day, the 9th. The overall turnout for the last EU parliamentary
election in 2019 was low: 40.8%. A survey published earlier this year predicted
the turnout this time would be significantly higher.
Young people,
including first time voters, are being strongly urged to take part. The total
number of people casting their ballots in the 27 member states for 720 parliamentary
seats could be in excess of 373 million.
More publicity than
ever is being given to the prospects of the far-right winning a majority of
seats in this election. The populist parties have strong support in Austria,
Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. However, the
far-right remains divided, which may mean relative weakness in Strasbourg and
Brussels. The centrists may well prevail.
As we reported recently, to be
eligible to vote in Portugal, you need to be over the age of 18 and fit into
one of four categories:
+
Portuguese citizens registered on the electoral roll of the national
territory.
+
Portuguese citizens residing abroad who have not chosen to vote in
another EU country.
+
Citizens of other EU countries registered in Portugal who choose to vote
for Portuguese members of the European Parliament.
+
Brazilian citizens with a citizen’s card or identity card with equal
political rights.
Polling stations will be in municipal
council offices or at locations posted on notices in local council offices on
voting day.
No comments:
Post a Comment