The European Court of Auditors has said it will not sign off the EU’s accounts, saying that many payments worth billions were irregular and possibly illegal.
Overall, the report gave an “adverse opinion on the legality and regularity of payments underlying the accounts". It noted that receipts were missing for thousands of pounds of expenses.
The deadline is approaching for the French government to reimburse millions to non-resident owners who have rented out or sold properties in France since 2012.
Since July 2012, individuals with rental income from French properties and/or capital gains from the disposal of French properties have paid social contributions at the rate of 15.5% in France.
An official from a Social Security Centre in Lisbon has been arrested by judicial police on Tuesday on suspicion of accepting bribes and computer fraud.
The un-named man was able to alter computer records to annul company debts and to allocate false social benefits and other payments, for which he received illicit payments.
The initial €1 million damage estimate from Albufeira councillor Ana Vidigal has proved very much an estimate as today those insurance companies with clients in the flooded downtown area estimate their customers have lost at least €10 million - and rising.
The November 1st flooding cascaded into the lower part of the town sweeping away roads, vehicles, pavements and flooding shops and basements in the worst such event on record.
French authorities have outlawed the use of tinted windows in front seats of cars.
The ban is to come into effect from January 2016 accompanied by a fine of €135 and three points on the licence of any driver caught ignoring the new law.
As the Secretary of State for Internal Affairs, João Almeida, commented in Brussels that Portugal already has "created the conditions for reception and integration" for a hundred refugees, the first group was settling in to accommodation in Penela, Coimbra.
João Almeida said that Portugal was now ready to start to take its share and had "immediate availability" for about a hundred refugees, part of 160,000 for whom Brussels had nominated countries.
Despite eurozone ministers’ attempts today to calm fears of a left wing government in Portugal, the Lisbon stock market took a hammering on Monday as markets woke up to the reality of an António Costa government.
Eurozone ministers wanted to avoid negative comments about Portugal’s current political instability and said unconvincingly that they were confident that Portugal will be just fine, "there is always a legitimate government in all countries, and it is with these government that we work," said the president of the Eurogroup.
Pressure group SOS Ria Formosa has discovered that the discredited Polis company, set up to develop the Algarve’s Ria Formosa area and deciding instead to rid its islands of people’s homes, is preparing to make a pre-Christmas onslaught on numerous properties on its list that have not yet been demolished.
Polis works under the instruction of the Ministry of the Environment and is being wound up at the end of 2015 but remains intent, despite court orders preventing its demolition contractors from advancing on homes on Farol and Hangares islands, in demolishing any property where is has spotted a legal weakness.
