1,The Council of Ministers today approved the decree that regulates the modification and extension of the state of emergency decreed by the President of the Republic, throughout the continental national territory, in the period between 00:00 on January 15, 2021 and 23:59 January 30th.

Based on the re-evaluation of the epidemiological situation in the country, the Government determined a set of extraordinary measures that aim to limit the spread of the pandemic and protect public health, ensuring the supply chains of essential goods and services:

the general duty of home collection is established, except for a set of authorized trips, namely: acquisition of essential goods and services, performance of professional activities when there is no teleworking, participation in the scope of the electoral campaign or election of the President of the Republic, the frequency of school establishments, the fulfillment of parental responsibility sharing, the practice of physical and sports activities in the open air, the enjoyment of moments in the open air and the stroll of pet animals, which must be of short duration and occur in the area of ​​residence;
the mandatory adoption of the teleworking regime is foreseen, whenever the functions in question permit, without the need for agreement by the parties, teleworking for essential service workers is not mandatory;
the exceptional and temporary regime for exercising early voting rights applies to voters who are in mandatory confinement, namely citizens residing in residential structures for the elderly and other responses dedicated to the elderly;
the closure of a wide range of facilities and establishments is determined, including cultural and leisure activities, sports activities (except for individual outdoor sports and training and competitive activities) and spas;
retail and service provision activities in establishments open to the public are suspended, with the exception of those that provide goods or provide essential services or other services considered essential;
it is envisaged that catering establishments and the like will operate exclusively for the purpose of cooking for consumption outside the establishment through home delivery or take-away;
it is established that public services provide face-to-face service by appointment, with the provision of services through digital media and contact centers being maintained and strengthened;
fairs and markets are allowed to operate in the case of sale of food products;
it is prohibited to hold celebrations and other events, with the exception of religious ceremonies and events within the scope of the electoral campaign and the election of the President of the Republic.

2. The decree-law that creates extraordinary measures to support workers and economic activity, taxpayers, the culture sector, consumers and commerce, in the context of the state of emergency, was approved in general.

3. The decree-law that alters the administrative regime in the context of the situation of calamity, contingency and alert was approved and aggravates the administrative law relating to mandatory teleworking during the state of emergency.

In view of its predominantly deterrent effect and in order to increase awareness of the need to comply with these measures, the current sanctioning regime is aggravated, increasing the respective fines to double.

It is also established that non-compliance with the obligation to adopt the teleworking regime during the state of emergency, regardless of the employment relationship, the type or the nature of the legal relationship, whenever the functions in question allow, becomes a very serious offense. .

4. The decree-law was approved extending the exceptional regime of measures applicable to local authorities in the context of the Covid-19 disease pandemic, with a view to maintaining the streamlining of administrative procedures as well as simplifying the financial regime of local authorities. and inter-municipal entities with a view to maintaining their capacity to respond to the needs imposed by the pandemic in their respective territories.

5. The Government submitted to the Assembly of the Republic a proposal for a resolution to approve Council Decision (EU, Euratom) 2020/2053, on the European Union’s own resources system. This Decision constitutes an indispensable legal instrument for the European Union to have the resources necessary to finance its budget and to implement its policies, the system of own resources being guided by the general objectives of simplicity, transparency and equity.