Government says that at the moment "there is no bill to pay" for refusing to accept refugees
Reaction from the government to Tuesday's report that Portugal will have to pay €8 million under the EU's solidarity mechanism.
Portugal will pay €8.8 million to avoid taking in migrants under the EU solidarity mechanism
Portugal has agreed to pay €8.8 million in lieu of accepting migrants under the European Union’s solidarity arrangements, opting to contribute financially rather than relocate asylum-seekers to the country.
Portugal opts to pay more than €8 million rather than host refugees from other Member States
Portugal has committed to pay the amount so that it does not have to host any asylum seekers coming from other Member States, such as Spain or Italy. The government has thus agreed to take part in the European solidarity mechanism, despite having requested an exemption from the European Commission, which is still assessing the Portuguese case.