SUNDAY BRIEFING

Weekend headline news 

                                 – July 2

 

Not so peaceful Portugal

The Global Peace Index 2023 has placed Portugal as the seventh most peaceful country in the world.  This has dropped for the third year running and is at its lowest position since 2015. The GPI annually covers nearly all of the countries in the world and uses many indicators in making its assessment. The top three most peaceful countries this year are Iceland, Denmark and Ireland.

Excessive air pollution

The European Union Court of Justice has again declared that Portugal has failed to comply with EU rules on air quality. Nitrogen oxide (NO2) levels have exceeded the limits in parts of the country causing a serious health hazard. This is due mainly to road traffic, especially diesel vehicles.

 Paedophile prevention

A group that is working on investigating and preventing the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults within the Portuguese Catholic Church is reportedly now directly linked to prosecutors in a greater effort to eliminate this criminality. Meanwhile, a shocking report in the Daily Mail in the UK reports that paedophiles are using AI to create and sell life-like child sexual abuse images.

Inflation lower last month

Portugal’s prime minister on Friday welcomed the news that inflation had dropped by 7.6% in June to 3.4%, saying that wage increases are not putting pressure on this rate.  The government hopes that new rules for withholding tax, which came into force yesterday, will ensure that an increase in gross income corresponds to an increase in net income.

Closer links with France

France and Portugal have promised to deepen ties in cultural, educational, technical, and scientific sectors. This was announced at the end of high-level discussions between officials of the two countries on Wednesday. Greater investment in languages and cooperation in maritime affairs were specifically mentioned. 

World Youth Day

The number of people from around the world registered to take part in World Youth Day, which is scheduled to take place next month in Lisbon, has reached about 300,000. Portugal has the fourth highest number registered. This is a Catholic event with Pope Francis scheduled to attend.

Don’t miss the ‘supermoons’!  

The first of four consecutive ‘supermoons’ this summer will light up the night sky tomorrow, July 3. The three others will occur on August 1, August 30 and September 29. ‘Supermoons’ appear to be bigger and brighter than normal full moons because their orbit is closer to the Earth when they reach their fullest phase. 

National Portuguese press:

Top headlines in recent days have included a wide range of stories about the rising cost of living.  

Local English newspapers:

The Algarve Daily News leads with the president of the republic’s proposal to end the obligation to display an insurance stamp on the windscreen of your car.

Among the Portugal News main stories: “Calls to bring an end to dolphins in captivity”.

The Portugal Resident emphasises that “Portugal won’t be bullied into cutting back on social security measures...”

WEDNESDAY BRIEFING

Mid-week headline news 

                              – June 28

 

Emergency robot response

The Ministry of internal Administration has announced plans to use the artificial intelligence service ChatGPT to answer 112 emergency calls in Portugal from 2025. Officials have said that using ChatGPT in this way would be entering uncharted waters, but hope it will optimise the work of the emergency service and make it more efficient. At present, it sometimes takes five to six minutes to get a human response to 112 calls.

Ever-present fire risks

The National Meteorological Institute issued a warning yesterday that the risk of wildfires in most of the Algarve was at the maximum level. As if the heat wave this week was not enough of a reminder, the prime minister warned that “we must be aware that fire is a risk and a risk that is present and will not disappear”. The 70 forested areas across Portugal most affected by rural fires need the establishment of an integrated land management scheme, according to the Minister of the Environment and climate action.  Meanwhile, smoke from fires un Canada has been passing at high altitude over Portugal and other parts of Western Europe. It is not having any effect at ground level in this country.

Rural police checks

As of yesterday, the GNR police have stepped up patrols and checks on farms and forestry plantations in order to prevent possible “human trafficking and theft, and promote the safe use of vehicles”, reports Luca News.

Overweight children

A new study has concluded that last year almost a third of six to eight-year-old children in Portugal were overweight. The number in the same cateogory described as ‘obese’ was 13.5%.  

Madeleine search fails

The analysis of mitems found next to the Arade reservoir during last month’s police search have shown no connection to the 16-year-old disappearance of Madeleine McCann. It was hoped evidence would be found to trace Madeleine’s body and implicate the so-called “prime suspect”, Christian B, who frequented the area in 2007. The German police who initiated the search have reported said they are “disappointed” that the items found “have not proven to be of any use”.

Climate-affected farmers

The European Commission has proposed to allocate €11 million in support for Portuguese farmers who have been affected by drought.  A total of €330 million is to be given to farmers across 22 EU member states affected by adverse climate conditions.

Combating drug traffickers

So far this year Portuguese police have seized almost the same quantity of illegal drugs as in the whole of 2022. This has led to the criminal investigation police (PJ) warning on Monday of the need for more resources to combat drug traffickers. On the same day as this announcement it was revealed that eight men were arrested and a tonne of cocaine seized from a sailboat that ended up sinking north of the Azores.

 

 

SUNDAY BRIEFING

 

Weekend headline news 

                             – June 25

 

Strikes next week

The secretary-general of Portugal’s largest trade union federation has predicted a national day of strikes and demonstrations all across the country next Wednesday. Workers in various sectors are demanding wage increases.

Expanding  tourism

The inland areas of Portugal, which are much less well-known to visitors compared with Lisbon, Porto or the Algarve, “can and should be inspiring for the transformation of tourism”, declared the secretary of state for tourism, commerce and services on Friday.  There are already measures in place to make this come true, he added.

Capital of Culture

Portugal’s prime minister has said that the designation of Évora in the Alentejo as the European Capital of Culture 2027 is an opportunity for the development of the region and he country through investment in culture.

Gambling addicts

A surprisingly large number of Portuguese people are addicted to gambling. An official study has found that 55% of Portuguese citizens – the majority of them men – have admitted to being addicted to gambling. That’s an increase of 7.6% from a similar survey in 2017.

Other addictions

The prevalence of tobacco consumption in Portugal increased from 48.8% in 2017 to 51% in 2022, according to a report by Luca News. The consumption of alcohol increased from 49.1% to 56.4% over the same period, while the use of sedatives was 13%, down from 22% in 2021.

New tax idea

The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) has presented a bill to parliament proposing a reduction of personal income tax and VAT for families. At the same time the PCP wants more taxation on companies and a tax on transitions to tax havens.

New Fatima saint

Pope Francis has signed a decree to advance the beatification of Sister Lucia, the eldest of the three children said to have witnessed the apparitions at Fatima in 1917. The Church will now have to approve a miracle attributed to her before the process of sainthood can be completed.

In the papers

The Portugal News announces that from July only electric buses will be operating in the city of Évora.

The Portugal Resident reports that human trafficking is a “time bomb under Portugal’s feet”.

The Algarve Daily News has led with: a story about a man who killed his wife, stayed with her corpse all night and surrendered himself the next day.

 

 

WEDNESDAY BRIEFING

Mid-week headline news – June 21

Heatwaves coming

Meteorologists are forecasting a heat wave to start tomorrow, Thursday, with temperatures rising to 40C or more in the interiors of the Algarve, the Alentejo and the Tagus Valley. It is expected to be hot, though, less so, across the rest of the country. The heat wave is expected to last for weeks.

Don’t waste water!

A national campaign to raise awareness about the need to save water has been launched in the Algarve region. Further droughts are predicted across the country as summer sets in. The levels of water in reservoirs have continued to drop despite recent rainfalls.

Solar farm concerns

Amnesty International Portugal has accused the government of a lack of transparency and an absence of dialogue with local inhabitants in the building of photovoltaic power plants in the Alentejo and the Algarve in a document that reveals concerns about the local economy, according to Luca News.

Alagoas Brancos latest

Portugal’s minister of the environment and climate action has been asked by a group of environmental organisations to intervene in the long and bitter dispute over a plan, backed by the Lagoa municipal authority, to allow a development to be built on the Alagoas Brancas wetland situated on the verge of the city. The minister has been asked to ensure immediate protection for this Algarve wetland, which is rich in plant and bird life.

Short-term lets

Restrictions on short-term lets of particular interest to holidaymakers are proving to be a highly contentious way of tackling the housing crisis for local residents.  The main opposition Social Democratic Party has proposed the elimination what it calls “the most damaging” aspects of the government’s initiative.

Lisbon Airport improvements

The government is finishing its assessment of proposals to improve operations at Lisbon Airport, the minister of infrastructure said this Wednesday morning.  A commitment to alleviate difficulties this summer has been guaranteed.

Worst port pollution

The ports of Lisbon and Funchal in Madeira are among the top 10 ports in Europe with the highest levels of pollution associated with cruise ships. This is according to a study released on Monday by the environmental association Zero.

Also, on the front pages

Other top stories in the major Portuguese newspapers so far this week include: Illegal immigration, betting scandals, a possible tax break for landlords, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to winning his 200^th international cap.

 

 

Portugal helps reduce AI risks

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a global revolution and has brought us well into the dawn of a new era. It is at present hugely helpful in many respects, but very difficult to comprehend while almost certainly set to impose heavier and unpredictable risks as it becomes more advanced.

The deep complexities of AI will be discussed at the 1st International Conference on Explainable Artificial Intelligence, which will be held in Lisbon next month.

Much confusion and many myths surround AI, which is essentially a man-made technological machine. It got properly underway in the late 1950s and, unknown to most of us, it was developed so that by the mid-70s it enabled computers to store much more information.  AI machines were beginning to think in much the same way as their human creators, though without any emotion. All sorts of knowledge, fast problem-solving and the interpretation of spoken language became readily available to all with a mobile phone or an ordinary computer.

AI is now commonplace, a normal part of our everyday lives. It is central to our casual or in-depth searches for information. It is good at quickly finding solutions for problems that non-AI machines are incapable of coping with. Office workers access more information more quickly and thus sometimes reduce working hours or staff numbers. Companies also profit from AI’s ability to allow us to arrange travel plans, shop online, check the best medications for specific purposes, or simply apply for job offers or citizenship. Such advanced conceptions as safe AI cars with no need for a driver at the wheel are well on the way.

However, there are growing concerns about possible pragmatic and ethical matters. Leading experts have different views on how these risks may further develop and what can be done to control them. This emphasises the importance of next month’s conference in Lisbon (July 26-28), as well as a number of other AI conferences and workshops in Portugal, both this year and next. They will bring together various academic specialists from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Hopefully, these and similar get-togethers across the world will help wise up the rest of us on the precautions we need to take now and in the future to better understand and update the changes of AI.

During Rishi Sunak’s recent visit to Washington he announced that the UK would host the first global summit on AI regulation later this year. At the recent G7 summit in Japan the group discussed and set in motion the creation of an intergovernmental forum called the “Hiroshima Process”.  Other major recent events have included an open letter with hundreds of signatures from some of the biggest names in technology and AI’s most distinguished academics.

In June 2019, the Portuguese government presented an ‘AI Portugal 2030’ strategy aimed at fostering the best public and private use of artificial intelligence throughout the next decade. Under Portugal’s presidency of the European Union in 2021, the focus was on the adoption of the first EU law to maintain transparency and respect for AI users’ rights.

This week, the European Parliament produced a landmark draft law that is the world’s most far-reaching attempt to address the potentially harmful effects of artificial intelligence. If passed, the law will be an example to leaders around the world of how to extensively control AI, or in the words of the New York Times, “to put guardrails on the rapidly expanding technology.”

Among other things, the EU’s draft AI Act would ban or severely restrict the use of technology in biometric surveillance such as facial recognition software, while requiring makers of AI systems such as ChatGPT to disclose all their AI-generated data content.

The draft EU law is not expected to be passed until later this year. Meanwhile, the risks already presenting themselves involve consumer data privacy, disinformation, and biased programming, as well as inadequate legal regulations. Many companies simply disregard data privacy as there are insufficient national and international regulations on this. AI is only as correct and unbiased as the data fed into it by human programmers.   

Future issues could include AI robots being programmed to cause different sorts of serious damage. The technologies could be used to provide benefits to one side or the other in major international disputes or warfare.

Much of the control of AI will be down to the expertise and management of the younger generation, which is why the AI Portugal 2030 initiative is so important. It seeks to support how students and young graduates grapple with the complexities of this subject.

As to the notion that AI robots may eventually take over the world, thia is far from science fiction.  Many scientists, including the renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, believe it to be very possible.

 

WEDNESDAY BRIEFING

Mid-week headline news 

                              – June 14

 

Portugal-UK anniversary

King Charles III and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will meet in London tomorrow, Thursday, to lead celebrations for the 650^th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.  This treaty of friendship, peace and cooperation was signed in London’s St Paul’s Cathedral by England’s King Edward III and Portugal’s King Fernando and Queen Leonor on June 16, 1373. It is the world’s oldest existing diplomatic alliance and still involves such things as bilateral trade and cultural events. Celebrations in Portugal will continue into next year with a project between the English National Ballet Company and dance schools in Braga.

Wildfire warnings

The rural area in the Algarve municipality of Tavira has been named this week as at “very high” risk, while Sao Bras de Alportel is at “high risk” of wildfires. This is according to the Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA). The institute placed 33 other municipalities in the districts of Faro, Beja, Setubal, Evora and Leira at a “moderate” danger level.

Canadian wildfire Help

Portugal has sent 140 operatives to help fight the forest fires that have long been out of control and caused devastation in Canada, particularly the western state of Alberta. The Portuguese team left today on a commercial flight from Lisbon. 

More Chinese tourists

A search engine dedicated to Portugal is seeking to encourage more people in China to visit this country. The program, all in the Chinese language, highlights 750 points of interest, including tourist attractions, special entertainment, shopping, gastronomy and hotel facilities. About 385,000 Chinese citizens visited Portugal in 2019, the year before the COVID pandemic, the permanent representative of Turismo de Portugal in China told the Lusa news.

Drop in Golden visas

“US citizens Abandon Portugal” is the headline of a Schegen Visa report that points out that Golden Visa demand has dropped 37% following the government’s decision to terminate the scheme.  He figure of 37% was provided by the international advisory firm Get Golden Visa.

No end to Maddie case

The German prosecutor in charge of investigating the so-called “prime suspect” in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has admitted his inquiries could go on until after Christian Bruckner has been released from prison for a rape conviction. No firm evidence has been reported from the recent search by Portuguese, German and British police next to the Arade reservoir frequented by Bruckner in 2007 around the time Madeleine went missing. 

Bringing back bees 

Several indicatives have just been launched in the Braganca district in the north-east of Portugal to preserve bees and recover previous standards of honey production. Beekeepers say droughts have been the cause of a drop of 80% in honey production, the worst decline in 40 years. 

 

Americans pouring into Portugal

Portugal has emerged as a highly appealing destination for US citizens wishing to relocate abroad. 

 

More and more North Americans have been coming here over the past three years, some to take advantage of the Golden Visa program, others to study, work or live in retirement.

 

The Americans are generally made welcome by local communities and this adds greatly to the fact that Portugal is physically and economically one of the most popular countries for immigrants in the whole of Europe.

 

“The country’s breath-taking landscapes, rich history, affordable living costs and high quality of life make it an attractive option for those seeking a change of scenery,” says Marla Barret, a specialist US adviser on Golden Visas.

 

“According to SchengenVisaInfo.com, US investors who planned to make investments in Portugal before November last year faced high costs. However, considering the strength of the US currency they can now purchase prime real estate in Portugal and get a Golden Visa.”

 

Marla Barret (pictured below) continued: “Additionally, recent statistics from the Portuguese Immigration and Border Service (SEF) indicate that among a total of 649 successful applications for Golden Visas filed in the first half of this year, 124 (19%) were from US nationals, while only 105 were from Chinese citizens. This data demonstrates the significant interest US citizens have in Portugal’s Golden Visa program.”

 

The program only appeals to the very wealthy, those willing to invest a minimum of €500,000 in real estate. Among other things, the granting of a visa allows holders to travel for business or leisure activities throughout the European Union’s 26-nation Schengen area. Benefits are extended to financially dependent family members. Residency can lead to EU citizenship.

 

Golden Visa applications were frozen from February this year, but there has been no official announcement regarding the deadline to end applications. The Portuguese Prime Minister stated that new measures to the Golden Visa program would be terminated sometime in 2023, but according to SchengenVisaInfo.com, ”golden visas for entrepreneurs will remain available for those interested, which enables foreign entrepreneurs who want to develop a project in this field in Portugal to do so. These new visa applications are assessed by considering the economic, social, scientific, technological or cultural relevance of the investment”.

 

The Portuguese government’s February statement said it would be ending the Golden Visa scheme, but the legislative process has not quite finished. The scheme could, however, be wrapped up at the end of this month.

 

There have been criticisms of the scheme, including allegations that it has brought dirty money into the country. It is also thought to have inflated property and rent prices during a national housing crisis, which is why the government decided to end the scheme.

 

Meanwhile, Portugal is a much sought-after place to study, work or retire. This is because of its relatively stable and growing economy in addition to its well-developed, if currently far from perfect, education, healthcare and transport systems. This has allured many US expats, especially from California. Portugal and California have similar Mediterranean-type climates, though Portugal usually has even more sunshine and the winters here are milder.

 

For the first time ever, the number of foreigners living in Portugal has reached almost 700,000. That’s almost 7% of the total population. The latest study on the subject reported that this was positive as it provides an increase in the workforce without which many business sectors would collapse. And the country is far from over-populated; it is only eighteenth among the EU’s 27 states with foreign ex-pats.

 

The cost of properties in Portugal can vary significantly depending on the location one chooses. A decision on where to buy will largely depend on the specific purpose of the acquisition. For instance, retirees often gravitate towards the coastal towns in the Algarve or Cascais due to their desired lifestyle, whereas young professionals tend to favour more urban areas like Lisbon or Porto.

 

The price range for properties is diverse, offering options for different budgets and preferences. In general, coastal regions and popular tourist destinations tend to have higher property prices, particularly in much sought-after areas with beautiful beaches or stunning views. On the other hand, inland regions and less-populated areas can offer more affordable options.

 

Portugal is always open to those interested in relocating here, but one has to fulfil certain requirements to get a visa. The official Portugal Visa Application form is downloadable from the visa portal. The requirements for a normal visa are much the same as for a Golden Visa. What is needed is a valid passport, two passport-size photographs https://mybiometricphotos.com/visa-photo/portugal/ , proof of having obtained health insurance valid in Portugal https://visaguide.world/international-health-insurance/ and proof of having no previous criminal records and a certificate from any country where you have lived longer than one year. The certificate has to be issued by the relevant authorities within the previous three months and translated into Portuguese.

 

Applicants will also need a sworn statement that they will maintain their investment for a minimum period of five years, a payment receipt from the ARI portal, any documents related to their investment.