Residency documents extended until June 2025 // Residents, venues clash over Lisbon ‘COVID terrace’ closures
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, July 2, 2024.
Residency documents extended until June 2025
Expired residency documents will be accepted in Portugal until June 2025 under a new decree approved by the president, Diário de Notícias reports. The news will be a relief for foreigners who’ve been fighting sluggish bureaucracy to renew their residency but only applies in Portugal so it doesn't solve problems with foreign travel or individual requirements of certain employers or schools.
The Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA), which replaced SEF, will be reinforced with as many as 300 workers to address the backlog of 412,000 pending processes for the legalisation of immigrants, Diário de Notícias reports. The taskforce will consist of experts, technical and operational assistants across two teams and have a deadline of June 2 next year. To hit that goal the agency will have to lift its output from about 2000 dispatches a week to more than 8000. Of the outstanding processes, AIMA president Luís Goes Pinheiro told parliament last week that about 342,000 were manifestations of interest, which has now been abolished, and 70,000 were for other residency permits.
Residents, venues clash over Lisbon ‘COVID terrace’ closures
The decision by the Arroios parish in Lisbon to close down its so-called “COVID terraces” has angered businesses but been greeted with relief by some residents, Expresso reports. Last week, 28 venues received letters from the junta de freguesia to remove the temporary structures within five days. The parish cited the noise created at night but restaurateurs criticised a lack of communication or effort to find solutions.
A Viagem das Horas owner Ricardo Maneira claimed the justification kept changing and had previously been in order to recover car parking spaces. “On the other side of the road [which is in the neighbouring Penha de França parish, which decided to keep its esplanadas permanently] they have a terrace. I can’t have one here because my parish president thinks cars are more important than jobs,” he said, claiming noise complaints hadn’t reached him or his fellow owners.
The parish said it has received many complaints from residents, often after the businesses’ closing times. The Vizinhos de Arroios (Arroios Neighbours) group said several residents had tried to speak to the bar and restaurant owners but, although they apologised, they couldn’t do anything about the noise. About 2000 noise complaints have been made to Lisbon’s “Noise Line” since it was created in 2022, including about 350 in Arroios.
Many of the affected venue owners were planning to take legal action to try to stop the parish forcing them to disassemble their terraces, Público reports.
Ex-PM Costa confirmed for key EU role
Former Portuguese prime minister António Costa has been elected president of the European Council, Público reports. As expected, European Union leaders also elected Ursula von der Leyen to remain head of the European Commission and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to be the body’s foreign affairs chief. Outgoing EC boss Charles Michel described the selection as “mission accomplished” and wished the new representatives well in their roles, before Costa thanked EC members and current PM Luís Montenegro for their support. You can read more on the politics behind the appointments from the BBC in English.
In brief
Google Translate now includes Portuguese from Portugal. The search giant announced it was adding 110 new languages in its “largest expansion ever”. So say goodbye to brazilian terms such as tren, ônibus and celular and hello to comboio, autocarro and telemóvel.
Speed camera network to be expanded as radars catch 43,000 a month. Another 25 cameras will be activated on July 6, including 12 measuring average speed. The road safety agency provides a list of all the operating radars here and the new ones here. (Diário de Notícias)
Half a million people living close to airport have greater risk of some diseases, study finds. Those living within five kilometres of the airport are more likely to have hypertension, diabetes or dementia, due to the ultrafine particles emitted by planes, according to environment group Zero. (Original study briefing) (Público)
Brazilian minister offers help for Portugal to tackle legacy of slavery. The visiting racial equality minister said Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s comments earlier this year about reparations were significant, describing them as “a first step” and offering her country’s experience. (Reuters, in English)
Train strikes called off after CP workers given pay rise. The strike started last week and was due to run until July 14 until the government announced it had come to an agreement with the train driver union. (Lusa)
Portugal the EU country where access to housing worsened most. New OECD data comparing wages and house prices showed the amount of the average family’s income needed to buy a house increased 50% from 2015. (Público)
Fireflies are disappearing in Portugal. The populations of at least four species are falling, according to “concerning” findings from an international team of biologists. (Público)
On a lighter note
When Portuguese and Spanish specialists met 26 years ago, female Iberian lynxes were on the brink of extinction in the wild, Público reports. Last month, the species was removed from the “endangered” list, a huge conservation achievement. Life Lynx-Connect coordinator said one of the keys to success was bringing together a range of different groups related to the felines, making everyone feel part of the project and important in the fight to protect them. It wasn’t just biologists, vets and other experts but also universities, companies and politicians, along with efforts to educate hunters, farmers, forestry owners and others. One technician even walked through a theatre with a lynx head mask to pass the message to young children. You can read more from The Guardian, in English.