The EU has called on countries to speed up their recycling initiatives.

Countries in the EU already have an obligation to recycle 50% of their waste by 2020. The majority of countries have a long way to go still to reach this goal.

The secretary general of the Automobile Association of Portugal, Hélder Barata Pais referring to recent figures for new car sales in Portugal, explained today that after being in decline since 2012, it is normal that any increase will be far steeper here than in countries where the market for new cars has been more stable.

In an interview on Radio Renaissance  today, Barata Pais said "The EU average was 25 cars per thousand of population, in Portugal we sold 14, in Austria 34 and in Germany 38. This puts the numbers into perspective - we are far from other European markets. So, one thing is the percentage change and the other is the market volume."

The increase in the number of payments from 120 to 150 for legally registered people was approved by the Cabinet on 28 May and became law on July 8.

"Published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday was a decree extending to 150 the maximum number of payments for authorised peple" read a statement from the Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

An appeal court in Spain found that a pharmacy was not obliged to follow the law and sell an emergency contraceptive on demand.

In 2008 a pharmacy in Andalusia was fined €3,000 by the local health authority for not selling morning-after pills or condoms.

The European Commission wanted Portugal to take in 2,400 refugees as part of a Europe-wide project to settle the steady stream of people fleeing to Europe from Syria.

At first the Portuguese Prime Minister refused and asked Brussels to ‘get real,’ mumbling about 'small country, economically challenged etc'

School leavers in Britain have been called the worst in Europe for “essential skills” to acquire entry-level business jobs.

A survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) found that European school leavers were better equipped to qualify for junior jobs.

Madrid City Hall says it will change the names of some 170 Madrid streets which still bear a link to the dictator Francisco Franco.

A law promulgated in 2007 by the Socialist government of the time said that all symbols related to the Franco regime should be removed, but many were not.

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launched a bid to win fresh aid from creditors, requesting “€7 billion within 48 hours” in order avoid what he called an emergency situation.

The money would be used to pay maturing debt obligations and avoid default but with Greek banks down to a couple of days’ cash and the European Central Bank unwilling to lend more, Tsipras was unable to convince Europe’s tired and scratchy leaders to authorise new financing.