Portugal pays €110 million to host Lisbon Web Summit until 2028

fibreopticThe co-founder of the hugely popular Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave, confirmed that he has signed an agreement with the Portuguese government for the show to remain in Lisbon for a further ten years.

The cost to the government is €110m with an agreement that, should the show move to another city, the State is compensated to the tune of €3 billion.

PM highly critical of Bank of Portugal's dithering

bop2Prime Minister, António Costa, again has laid into the Bank of Portugal but remains unable to sack its governor without the cooperation of the European Central Bank.

The current source of the premier’s discontent is the central bank’s lack of ambition to reduce bad debt in Portugal's banking sector.

Taxpayers continue to fund privately owned Novo Banco

novobancoshinylogoPrivately owned Novo Banco is preparing to suck up €726.4 million from the Resolution Fund in 2019, taking full advantage of the soft deal negotiated by the Bank of Portugal that leaves the nation's banks and taxpayers funding the US-owned institution.

Novo Banco is 75% owned by 'vulture fund' Lone Star from Texas and run in Portugal by António Ramalho who has overseen €500 million in problem loan write-offs in the first half of 2018, despite the bank being set up with only the ‘good’ assets of Banco Espírito Santo which went bust in 2014.

MEPs vote for 30% European content on Netflix, YouTube and Facebook

europeanparliamentMEPs have voted on updated rules on audiovisual media services, better to protect children, with stricter rules on advertising, and 30% European content in video-on-demand.

Following the final vote on this agreement, the revised legislation will apply to broadcasters, but also to video-on-demand and video-sharing platforms, such as Netflix, YouTube or Facebook, as well as to live streaming on video-sharing platforms.

Portugal should admit its violent colonial past

mozambiqueSchool books used by Portuguese pupils must begin to address Portugal’s violence against the indigenous populations of its former colonies.

The recommendation is based on a report by a Council of Europe committee that, every five years, assesses racism and intolerance.

Portugal aims to keep winter and summer clock changes

clockThe summer and winter clock changes are to stay as they are, after a report from the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory (OAL) last August this week was endorsed by the prime minister.

António Costa said in an interview with TVI, "I see no reason to contradict science. I think the good and only criterion is the criterion of science and what has been expressed up to now by the competent authority, which is the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory."

Low-tax immigrants boost the economy by €11 billion

lisbon2In the past nine years, immigrants taking advantage of the Non-habitual Resident scheme have boosted the Portuguese Treasury and economy by between €9 billion and €11 billion, according to a study published today by estate agents’ association, APEMIP.

The real estate association claims that the effect of immigrants buying properties in Portugal has been a “boost to city centres, employment has been created and tax revenues have increased at the same time.”

Spain installs solar power plant in Portugal - 'there's less red tape'

pvPortugal's light-touch administrative regime for solar power companies has led Spanish businesses over the border to avoid taxes and red tape.

Spain's 'sun tax' has brought Irish developer WElink Energy, which has offices in Madrid and Barcelona, to inaugurated Europe’s largest subsidy-free solar plant - in Portugal.