At the end of 2015, the Portuguese owed the Tax Authority €15.5 billion, an increase of €817 million during the year and a ten year record.

Much of the 2015 total is for sums owed that have resulted in insolvency proceedings.

Facing a hefty fine from the EU, Spain is considering a hike in corporate tax.

Both Spain and Portugal were deemed guilty of failing to bring their government deficits into line and a sanctions procedure has begun against the two nations.

The message of the 1939 motivational poster again has relevance for British expats in the wake of Brexit.

The UK Foreign Office has launched a new webpage specifically for expats living in or visiting EU countries after a majority of British people opted to part company with the European Union.

Ecofin, the European Union finance ministers’ council, today decided that Spain and Portugal should be fined and sanctions imposed as both countries failed to achieve their 2015 budget deficit targets.

Both countries also were criticised for not having done enough to make cuts in government expenditure.

A survey by a Dutch news programme indicates that 54% of the public in the Netherlands want referendum on remaining in the EU and that 48% would vote to leave.

Anti-immigration hard-liner MP Geert Wilders considers the UK’s Brexit a victory and a 'patriotic revolt in pursuit of freedom," a view that is gaining ground amongst the Dutch electorate.

Algarve Left Bloc MP João Vasconcelos has demanded some answers of the Minister of the Environment about a fake ruin built only so as to obtain planning permission for a house in a ​​Natural Ecological Reserve area.

Vasconcelos has questioned the minister, João Matos Fernandes, asking him to act "with the urgency that the situation requires" and what measures he will take safeguard and defend the public interest.

Italians are soon to cast their ballots in a referendum on which Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has staked his premiership.

Unlike that in Britain recently, the Italian referendum is on constitutional reform. The proposed reforms are widespread, and if approved could improve the stability of Italy’s governments and allow faster passage of laws aimed at improving the country’s economic competitiveness.

The new rail motorway linking Spain to the UK has fallen victim to numerous assaults by migrants.

The VIIA Britanica, launched in March this year after multi-million investment, was halted on Monday because of repeated efforts by migrants to break into the trucks being transported to Britain.