The government has met representatives from the main parliamentary parties to discuss the sale of Novo Banco, a process that the prime minister (pictured) and finance minister insist is going very well.

Even after today’s four separate meetings, with four sets of government officials each taking a political party, if the conditions of sale have to be discussed in parliament, a scenario being pushed heavily by the Left Bloc, there is little hope that the government’s current plan will face anything but opposition.

The Algarve motorway tolls are going to be discussed in parliament on Thursday with the Left Bloc and the Communist Party wanting tolls abolished and the Social Democrats opting for suspension until the EN125 is finished, which amounts to much the same thing.
 
Ever since the tolls were foisted on a resistant public in 2011, just as the recession really started to hurt, many of the region’s regular drivers have tried to get the tolls reduced or, better still, abolished. Those that can, have been using the EN125 which even the prime minister has agreed is wholly unsuitable as an alternative route - mind you, that was just before he became prime minister..

The European Federation for Transport and Environment, and Carbon Market Watch have placed Portugal in 7th place in the European ranking, recognising its current policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Quercus and Zero, two Portuguese environmental groups, consider this result both "satisfactory" and "insufficient."

It's not just foreign tourists: Portuguese nationals are booking more holidays this year - and are booking them earlier in competition with overseas visitors who are filling the Algarve’s hotels, apartments and villas.

National tourists are booking both overseas trips and domestic travel, the figures are up 6% on last year as recession eases and a holiday is back on the family agenda.

As the formal process of removing Britain from the European Union gets underway this week, two parallel surveys highlighting expatriate concerns show consensus between respondents regardless of their nationality and whether they are living in the UK or in the remainder of the EU.

Overall, 80% of the 1,900 respondents in the surveys conducted by the interactive platform Expat.com agreed that Brexit posed “a threat” for the UK.

Inquiries into the finances of Ricardo Salgado and the former head of Portugal Telecom, Henrique Granadeiro, have resulted in the seizure of Herdade do Vale do Rico Homem, owned by a company controlled by Granadeiro.

The decision to seize the wine estate was made following the interrogations of Ricardo Salgado and Henrique Granadeiro as part of Operation Marquês when it was confirmed that Espírito Santo Enterprises (the slush fund operating for Grupo Espírito Santo) had acquired part of the company that owned the estate.

A select number of motoring journalists were invited by Bugatti's management to test drive the new Chiron in Portugal, but were asked to limit their top speed to "no more than 350 kmph."

The car’s maximum velocity is electronically limited to 420 kmph but getting there is a nerve jangling experience, even for hardened motoring hacks.

The Prime Minister estimated that private and public investment to fix up town and city properties could reach €5 billion by 2023, but warned that there is a danger of losing the very identity that appeals to tourists.

António Costa was speaking at the opening session of Urban Rehabilitation Week, in Lisbon.