Portugal is the most welcoming country in Europe for immigrants

bemVindoThe famous Portuguese welcome now has a ranking with the country coming in at number ten worldwide of the friendliest places for foreigners to move to - and number one within Europe.

The InterNations survey released this week states that the ‘affability level’ is one of the factors that contributes to a happy and successful relocation to any new country.

Competition Authority OK with TAP's new shareholding split

tapPortugal's Competition Authority finally has decided not to oppose the government's repurchase of TAP shares from Gateway, made necessary by a pledge by PM Antonio Costa that the taxpayer again would control the loss-making airline.

The Competition Authority approved the reversal of the sale by the PSD/CDS-PP government under Passos Coelho which gave Gateway the upper hand in a deal which netted the Treasury just €20 million and left the taxpayer underwriting over €1 billion in TAP loans.

Abandoned car purge frees up Algarve city centres

abandonedCarsMany of the Algarve’s more urban councils are concerned at the number of abandoned vehicles clogging up their city centres, yet in many cases the vehicles can not be touched.

In Olhão, the council says that it can not remove certain categories of vehicle, for example when they are owned by a finance company or have been seized through the courts in lieu of debt.

Algarve hoteliers' association slams illegal tourist rental market

alThe Algarve’s association for hoteliers has slammed the government and its agencies for doing nothing at all to stamp out illegal rentals of villas and apartments.

The AHETA has condemned the illicit tourism rental in the Algarve and demands appropriate action from Finanças, Tourism of Portugal and local mayors which, it says, have done nothing to stop this illegal business.

Taxpayer to repay magazine owner €30,000 in 'freedom of the press' case

6232The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Portuguese State must repay €30,000 to Visão magazine.

At issue was an abuse of the freedom of the press and of defamation.

Sea Minister promises €80 million to boost fish farming

fish2A doubling of fish production by 2020 and a consequent reduction of imports are the twin goals of the 'Aquaculture +' programme presented by minister Ana Paula Vitorino on a visit to Aveiro.

The Minister for the Sea and all things fishy presented a new package of measures for aquaculture and hopes the €80 million to be made available will attract an equivalent sum of private investment.   

Spain seeks repatriation of its Visigoth bones

germansoldierSpain is set to ask Germany for the return of certain archaeological treasures which it gave willingly to one of the most powerful men of the Nazi regime.

Gold and bronze artefacts from the Visigoth period in Spain were presented to Heinrich Himmler, head of the notorious SS. Himmler was on a visit to General Francisco Franco in 1940 in Madrid.

French call to quash trade treaty talks

containersThe French minister for trade has added his country’s voice to concerns over the trade deal between the US and the EU and has called for the talks to be dropped.

Matthias Fekl, the minister for foreign trade, tweeted that the French government demanded that negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) should cease.