Portugal Safety and Security Report 1st February 2023
Yesterday the organization Transparency International published the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report for 2022. Portugal maintains the 2021 score of 62 and decreases one place from 32nd to 33rd position, out of 180 countries.
Portugal remains below the average for the Western Europe and the European Union which has 66 points, but ahead of Spain which scored 60 and Italy 56. According to the report the ‘gold’ visa program in Portugal “increased the risks of corruption” and “put pressure on the real estate market”, according to the report. Portugal is criticized for postponing the abolition of that “controversial program”,
When I worked with INTERPOL we met with the Transparency International team as part of Interpol’s own anti-corruption strategy was conceived with nearly all Golden Visas being issued for property purchase with buyers from just one or two countries meant that there was a high risk of corruption and related crimes such as money laundering. The report is right in highlighting this in the case of Portugal.
Also yesterday the PSP reports that, in five years, it recorded 1,615 crimes of animal abandonment and 2,278 for situations of mistreatment, in a total of 4,402. While the GNR accounted for 5,330 crimes, 3,385 of which were for mistreatment of animals and 1,945 for abandonment. The GNR also reports that it issued 18,690 administrative offenses for this offense in the last five years.
The Public prosecutor’s office recently asked the Constitutional Court (TC) for a declaration of unconstitutionality of the norm that criminalizes with imprisonment those who, without legitimate reason, kill or mistreat pets because the TC has successively annulled these convictions, with the argument that they lack constitutional coverage.
This position of the TC is based on the principle that nothing in the Constitution provides for deprivation of liberty (in other words a prison sentence for the person convicted) with regard to the rights of animals. The TC should only pronounce its sentence on this matter in the coming months.
The British Embassy in Lisbon has contacted Safe Communities Portugal and other associations with an update on the issue of residence documentation for UK nationals and their family members under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA).
As you will all be aware, over the last few months the Portuguese administration has made significant progress in rolling out appointments so UK nationals, who are registered on SEF’s Brexit Portal, can obtain a biometric WA residence card. We understand the majority of those registered on the portal have now booked or attended an appointment. However, SEF have informed us that there are still some UK nationals who have not responded to the email invitations, or who have not attended on the day.
We are grateful for all you have already done to encourage people to take action (and to flag issues to us), and we would appreciate your ongoing assistance in trying to reach those who are yet to engage with the process. From what SEF tell us, appointment availability now appears to be very good across the country, and it is not too late for UK nationals to register on the portal if they haven’t done so already.
“Despite the progress made, we know there are some important outstanding issues still to be resolved, the main one being a process for family members to obtain a WA residence document. The good news is that last week SEF opened a process for family members who previously held an EU residence document – see their announcement from 23 January on Facebook here. Although SEF have confirmed that some UK nationals have already managed to add their family members to their account on the portal, we know others have had difficulty. SEF have also not yet published any guidance on the process. We continue to engage with SEF to encourage them to do so and to raise the issues being reported to us”.
With that have a safe week ahead.
News
Majority of informal caregivers need urgent psychological support
Data from a national survey reveal that 83.3% of informal caregivers felt in a state of ‘burnout’ and 77.9% recognized that they needed psychological support. Less than half of these seek and use this help
Most informal caregivers admit they have already felt in a state of emotional exhaustion and more than seven in ten need urgent psychological support, according to a study to be released on Tuesday.
Data from this national survey, which will be presented in Lisbon, reveal that 83.3% of the informal caregivers surveyed admit to having felt in a state of ‘burnout’ and that 77.9% recognize that they need psychological support, but less than half of these seeks and enjoys this help.
“The data tells us this: they need it, they want it and they have already tried to get psychological support”, psychologist Ana Carina Valente, responsible for the study and professor at ISPA – University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences, told Lusa, stressing that the results show that “there is psychological suffering in caregivers”.
The national survey, carried out by Merck, with the support of the Movimento Caring for Informal Caregivers, also shows that 78.5% consider that their mental health status influences the performance of their role as informal caregivers and about half say they are unable to laugh and see the positive side as before.
Although 77.9% recognize the need for psychological support, less than half of them seek and use this support: “The psychological support response in Portugal, for example, from the National Health Service, is not an effective response”, considers Ana Carina Valente.
Kamov helicopters await Ukraine’s “technical visit” to assess donation
The Ministry of Defence says that “the scheduling of a technical visit” by Ukrainian representatives is being articulated to assess the state and the sending of the six Portuguese Kamov helicopters (which are Russian built) – all inoperative, to the front of combat against Russia.
While the Government continues to study the possibilities of contributing with training or Leopard 2 tanks to the war effort in Ukraine , the six Portuguese Kamov helicopters, Russian-made and all inoperative, remain in Portugal.
The Portuguese offer was announced in October by the Minister of National Defence (MDN), Helena Carreiras, but the process regarding the aircraft has not yet been concluded. “A technical visit by representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is currently being articulated between the authorities of the two countries, after which the aircraft can be sent”, replied the office of the Minister of Defence to Express.
Inflation drops to 8.3% in January
The year-on-year rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 8.3% in January, compared to 9.6% in December, according to the flash estimate released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to INE, “based on the information already collected, the year-on-year rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will have decreased, for the third consecutive month, to 8.3% in January 2023, a lower rate in 1.3 percentage points (pp) to that observed in the previous month”.
As for the underlying inflation indicator (total index excluding unprocessed food products and energy) it registered a variation of 7.0% in January (7.3% in the previous month).
INE adds that the average change rate in the last 12 months was 8.2% (7.8% in the previous month).
The Portuguese Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) recorded a year-on-year change of 8.6% in the month under review (9.8% in the previous month).
Potholes in public roads have been worrying Lisbon residents for seven months
Holes have existed since July of last year and have not yet been covered, despite successive complaints from residents.
The holes in the public road in the parish of Alcântara, in Lisbon, concern the residents. The situation has lasted since July last year and has worsened with the rains of recent months.
The holes in the middle of Rua Pinto Ferreira pose a danger to anyone passing by, both in the pedestrian zone and in the car traffic area.
Residents have been complaining since last July and incidents have already been opened on the “Na Minha Rua” portal, an application of the Lisbon City Council where problems in public spaces can be reported, but most have been closed by the services.
Residents are concerned about the situation, which has been aggravated by the recent rains.
To SIC, the Lisbon City Council says that the problem is in a connection branch that will have been damaged, and that the objective is to move forward as quickly as possible to the work that allows to solve the situation.