Latest news and stories about european policy in Portugal for expats and residents.
The Draghi Report's ambitions force Europe to confront uncomfortable realities: it is falling significantly behind global competitors. The analysis argues that the ‘race’ has been underway for years and that closing the gap requires urgent, active policy choices — including structural reforms, targeted investment and a renewed focus on competitiveness across the single market.
President of the Republic António José Seguro argued at the La Toja Forum in Lisbon that Europe must be defended and reformed, warning that it cannot remain stagnant. He stressed the need for European strategic autonomy, deeper political integration, and a renewed, equal partnership with the United States, while emphasizing that Europe must act as a subject of history rather than an object of others' decisions.
MEPs argue that the post-2027 budget should be set at 1.27% of the European Union's gross national income (GNI) and that debt repayment costs should be excluded. Defence and competitiveness are new priorities, without prejudice to the funding of cohesion and agriculture.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, argued this Tuesday that Europe “cannot face a new era with an old budget”, thus calling for the need to obtain new own resources. In a press conference in Strasbourg (France) following the approval of the European Parliament's negotiating position for the European Union (EU) budget...
MEPs have defined their position for negotiations with member states regarding the main values and structure of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028-2034.
The French head of state declared this Friday in Athens that Europe is experiencing a “unique moment” in which “an American president, a Russian president and a Chinese president” are “fiercely opposed to Europeans”. “This is the right moment for us to act,” maintained Emmanuel Macron, speaking in English during a meeting with the Prime Minister.
It's an “extremely difficult negotiation,” says Italian PM Giorgia Meloni at EU summit in Cyprus.
Before EU leaders, the President of the European Parliament argued that 'one cannot continue to respond to a changing world with outdated instruments'.
Miguel Baumgartner, a commentator for CNN Portugal, argues that today, Europe lacks political weight and, even more so, the military capacity to impose anything.
Supported by Rutte's diplomacy, Europe must take advantage of the shelter still afforded to it to build, with time, rationality, and effectiveness, its own defense capacity.
The European Council president wants to use a narrow window of opportunity to strike a deal by the end of 2026.
Now Canal reports on Portugal's role as a primary entry point into Europe.
The European Parliament finalises its position on the proposal for the 2028-34 multiannual financial framework and excludes the repayment of the recovery fund loan from the budget.
Magyar's victory is not just Orbán's defeat. It is also a victory for the EU and a defeat for Trump and Putin. And a symbolic defeat for the far-right. Opinion by Nuno Severiano Teixeira
The defeat of Viktor Orbán in the Hungarian elections was interpreted as a significant political signal for Europe
Magyar is the new Prime Minister of Hungary. European Heads of State and Government congratulated the new leader and all Hungarians on the “historic choice in favour of a free and strong Hungary.”
Alberto Cunha, a commentator for CNN Portugal, considers it “almost impossible” that most European powers are willing to “risk an alliance that brought them the capacity for collective security.”
The end of the Orbán era? The Hungarian elections test Europe's democratic resilience and seek to answer whether the popular vote can still dismantle a state captured by authoritarianism. A column by Bruno Santos.
Pedro Sánchez defended the need for Europe to strengthen its autonomy in terms of defence, with a common foreign security and defence policy, and in that context, argued that Europe should move towards a European Army “tomorrow”, and “not in ten years, nor in two”. Spain is against sending NATO troops...
The Atlantic relationship and the future of Europe are the main themes of the Foro La Toja, an initiative by the Hotusa Group led by Spanish businessman Amancio López, which returns to Lisbon for the fourth consecutive year. The event will bring together national and international political figures at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on 29 April to discuss global security, the new European order, and the defence of liberal democracy.
Today, the reality is clear: Europe is lagging behind in the development of models, the creation of technological platforms, and the ability to transform scientific knowledge into scalable products.
In this week's 'Europa Viva', Maria Luís Albuquerque explains that the goal of her mission is for all citizens to have higher pensions at the time of retirement.
Those who conspire always represent a danger to democracy.
The party wants the Portuguese Government to intervene with European institutions so that the removal of certain Russians from the European Union's list of sanctioned individuals is reviewed.
The European Central Bank (ECB) argues that Europe must reduce its reliance on non-European payment providers amidst rising e-commerce and geopolitical tensions. ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone stated that a digital euro would provide a sovereign payment infrastructure, allowing citizens to pay digitally with central bank-issued money as they do with physical cash. Currently, two-thirds of card transactions in the eurozone are governed by non-European companies, and the ECB aims to strengthen European autonomy by offering a pan-European digital payment solution that is resilient, cost-effective, and independent of foreign infrastructure.
“We are where you know we will be,” says Macron in Tokyo. The French President argues that European predictability “has value” in current times, in contrast to the inconsistency of the US.
Artificial Intelligence is embedding itself into the heart of European political and administrative power with little public debate. While framed as a drive for efficiency and competitiveness, this shift risks creating a new power architecture that bypasses democratic scrutiny. The article argues that initiatives like the EU AI Act and the Omnibus package, which aim to accelerate legislative processes, may inadvertently reduce civic oversight and increase dependence on major US technology firms. As public administrations rely more on external tech infrastructure and expertise, power is quietly shifting from transparent public institutions to opaque technical circuits, threatening the very democratic control that digital sovereignty is supposed to protect.
The movement for the Tagus river appeals to the European Ombudsman following the dismissal of the complaint regarding water flow management by Portugal and Spain. It states that the decision lacks scientific justification.
Europe is not facing an identity crisis, it is facing a crisis of persuasion. The missing argument is not moral: it is strategic.
