# Portugal - United States Department of State

- Portugal HomeReportsBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices&#8230;Portugal				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Portugal																																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																																																																																							Download Report																																																							Translations																																																																 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																																									a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																																											b. Disappearance																																																																											c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																																			Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																																																		d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																																			Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																																																		e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																																			Trial Procedures																																																								Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																																																		f. Transnational Repression																																																																											g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																																											h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																																																	Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																																									a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																																			Internet Freedom																																																																																																																		b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																																											c. Freedom of Religion																																																																											d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																																											e. Protection of Refugees																																																																																	Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																																									Elections and Political Participation																																																																																	Section 4. Corruption in Government																															Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																															Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																																									Women																																																																											Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																																											Children																																																																											Antisemitism																																																																											Trafficking in Persons																																																																											Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																																											Persons with Disabilities																																																																																	Section 7. Worker Rights																																																									a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																																											b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																																											c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																																											d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																																											e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																																																																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Portugal during the year.There were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses.The government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses.																														Section 1.													 Respect for the Integrity of the Person												    																																																a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings										There were no reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings, during the year.																																				b. Disappearance										There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.																																				c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses										While the constitution and law prohibited torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, there were credible reports of excessive use of force by police and of mistreatment and other forms of abuse of prisoners by prison guards. Complaints of physical abuse consisted primarily of slaps, punches, and kicks to the body and head, as well as beatings with batons. The complaints were mainly against the Public Security Police and the Republican National Guard. The Inspectorate General of Internal Administration (IGAI) investigated complaints. Punishment ranged from letters of reprimand, temporary suspension from duty, mandatory retirement with pension cuts, discharge from duty, and prison sentences for those tried and convicted.																Prison and Detention Center Conditions						Some prisons had inadequate facilities and limited access to health care.Abusive Physical Conditions: There were minimal problems reported including inadequate facilities, inadequate access to health care, and prisoner-on-prisoner violence.Administration: Authorities investigated credible allegations of mistreatment and documented the results in a publicly accessible manner.Independent Monitoring: The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights observers that included the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), the IGAI, university researchers, and news media. Local human rights and media groups were fully independent bodies and had unrestricted access to the prisons.																										d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention										The constitution and federal law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government generally observed these requirements.																Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees						Individuals were normally arrested on a judicial warrant, but law enforcement officers and citizens could make an arrest without a warrant when there was probable cause a crime had been or was being committed, or when the person arrested was an escaped convict or suspect.Authorities respected the requirement that a suspect appear before an investigating judge within 48 hours of arrest. By law, the investigating judge determined whether an arrested person should be detained, released on bail, or released outright. Investigative detention for most crimes was limited to four months. If authorities did not file a criminal charge within that period, they were required to release the detainee. In cases of serious crimes such as murder, armed robbery, terrorism, violent or organized crime, and crimes involving more than one suspect, the investigating judge could hold a suspect in detention for up to 18 months during the investigation, and up to three years in extraordinary circumstances.A bail system existed, but authorities generally did not release detainees on their own recognizance. Depending on the severity of the crime, a detainee’s release could be subjected to various legal conditions.Detainees had the right to legal counsel of their choice from the time of arrest. If detained persons could not afford a private lawyer, the government appointed one and assumed legal costs. Independent monitors asserted some detainees only met an ex officio lawyer at the court hearing before a judge.																										e. Denial of Fair Public Trial										The constitution and law provided for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality.																Trial Procedures						The constitution and law provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.						Political Prisoners and Detainees						There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.																										f. Transnational Repression										Not applicable.																																				g. Property Seizure and Restitution										Not applicable.																																				h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence										The constitution and laws prohibited such actions and there were no reports the government failed to respect these prohibitions.																																					Section 2.													 Respect for Civil Liberties												    																																																a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media										The constitution and law provided for freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this right. An independent media, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to promote freedom of expression, including for media members.Freedom of Expression: The law criminalized the denigration of ethnic or religious minorities, as well as Holocaust denial.Libel/Slander Laws: By law, defamation, including libel and slander, constituted a criminal offense. Conviction of defamation, defined as alleging a fact or formulating a judgment (or reproducing such) regarding a third person that was offensive to that person’s honor or reputation, was punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine.On September 8, a district court in Porto convicted former European Parliament member Ana Gomes of “aggravated defamation.” The legal dispute stemmed from a tweet in which Gomes referred to a Portuguese businessman as a “notorious crook and criminal,” prompting legal proceedings against Gomes. The court imposed a fine of €2,800 ($3,026) on Gomes, along with €8,000 ($8,648) in damages to be paid to the defendant.On October 20, a Lisbon court ordered anti-racist activist Mamadou Ba to pay a €2,400 ($2,594) fine after finding him guilty of defamation. Ba had previously written that a far-right neo-Nazi activist was allegedly instrumental in the death of Alcindo Monteiro, a Cabo Verdean man killed in a racially motivated assault in 1995.																Internet Freedom						The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content.																										b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association										The constitution and law provided for the freedoms of peaceful assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				c. Freedom of Religion										See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country										The law provided for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights.																																				e. Protection of Refugees										The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees, or asylum seekers, as well as other persons of concern.Access to Asylum: The law provided for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government had an established system for providing protection to refugees. Experts raised concerns regarding what they considered to be shortcomings in the government’s efforts to proactively identify trafficking victims among asylum seekers.Durable Solutions: Under the EU’s relocation plan for refugees who entered the EU through Greece and Turkey, the government received refugees. It offered naturalization to refugees residing within the country’s territory and other durable solutions, such as the right to work, education, access to health care, and housing support.Temporary Protection: The government provided temporary protection to approximately 57 individuals in 2022 who would not have qualified as refugees.																																					Section 3.													 Freedom to Participate in the Political Process												    																						The constitution and law provided citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage.																										Elections and Political Participation										Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections were widely reported to be fair and free of abuses and irregularities.																																					Section 4.													 Corruption in Government												    																						The law provided criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the government generally implemented the law effectively. There were reports of government corruption.Corruption: There were reports of corruption in the executive and legislative branches of the central government. Media outlets reported corruption involving central and local government officials.The government opened several investigations into corruption by high-level officials related to bribes and favorable contracts. On August 17, the Public Prosecutor’s Office indicted former Director-General of the Directorate-General for National Defense Resources (DGRDN) Alberto Coelho and 72 others for passive corruption, money laundering, embezzlement, and document forgery following an investigation into embezzlement at the Ministry of Defense. The indictment called for Coelho to pay the state more than €86,000 ($92,966) for bribes and kickbacks allegedly received for defense contracts. The Public Prosecutor’s Office also indicted Paulo Morais Branco, former financial director of the DGRDN, and Francisco Marques, former Defense Ministry Director of Infrastructure and Assets, and ordered them to pay back a combined sum of nearly €700,000 ($756,700).On November 7, police and the public prosecutor searched various offices and residences, including those of Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba, and Environment Minister Duarte Cordeiro, as part of a probe into alleged influence peddling and corruption involving lithium extraction in Montalegre and a green hydrogen project at the port of Sines. The police arrested chief of staff to the prime minister Vítor Escária, associate Diogo Lacerda Machado, Sines Mayor Nuno Mascarenhas, and two others. Additionally, Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba, head of the Portuguese Environment Agency, and a former state secretary were indicted. After meeting with the president, the prime minister announced the president had accepted his resignation. The investigation, named “Operation Influencer,” began in 2019 and covered alleged misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling, according to a statement from the public prosecutors’ office. A separate probe initiated by the Supreme Court of Justice was opened to investigate the prime minister’s connection to the alleged crimes. On November 9 President Rebelo e Sousa announced he would dissolve parliament and call for new elections on March 10, 2024. Prime Minister Costa was head of the caretaker government as of year’s end.For additional information concerning corruption in the country, please see the Department of State’s Investment Climate Statement for the country and the Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, which includes information on financial crimes.																											Section 5.													 Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights												    																						A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction to monitor or investigate human rights conditions or cases and publish their findings. Government officials were generally cooperative and responsive to the views of these groups.Government Human Rights Bodies: The country had an independent human rights ombudsman appointed by parliament who was responsible for defending the human rights, freedom, and legal rights of all citizens. The Ombudsman’s Office operated independently with the cooperation of the government.The ombudsman had adequate resources and published mandatory annual reports, as well as special reports on problems such as women’s rights, prisons, health, and the rights of children and senior citizens.Parliament’s First Committee for Constitutional Issues, Rights, Liberties, and Privileges oversaw human rights problems. It could draft and submit bills and petitions to parliament for approval.																											Section 6.													 Discrimination and Societal Abuses												    																																																Women										Rape and Domestic Violence: The law made rape of a person, regardless of gender, including spousal and domestic or intimate partner rape, illegal, with a penalty of three to 10 years’ imprisonment if convicted. Other forms of domestic and sexual violence, including so-called corrective rape of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons, was illegal. The government generally enforced the law when the survivor chose to press charges. The law provided for criminal penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for conviction of domestic violence by a spouse or by a person other than the spouse. The judicial system prosecuted persons accused of committing gender-based violence (GBV), including violence towards women.GBV, including domestic violence, was a problem. The law allowed third parties to file domestic violence reports. The government encouraged survivors of violence to file complaints with appropriate authorities and offered survivors protection against their abusers. The government’s Commission for Equality and Women’s Rights operated 39 safe houses and 28 emergency shelters for survivors of domestic violence and maintained an around-the-clock telephone service. Safe-house services included food, shelter, health assistance, and legal assistance. The government-sponsored Mission against Domestic Violence trained health professionals and negotiated protocols with local authorities to assist survivors.The government completed a two-year training program for public administration workers on domestic violence to improve coordination among officials in different areas, such as health, law enforcement, and justice.On August 14, the state secretary for equality and migrations and the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) launched an awareness campaign against domestic violence under the motto, “There are no excuses for domestic violence.”Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C): By law FGM/C was a criminal offense punishable by two to 10 years’ imprisonment. FGM/C was deemed a public crime, whereby anyone could report suspected cases regardless of the victim’s consent.The State Secretariat for Citizenship and Equality reported some communities practiced FGM/C on young girls, particularly Bissau-Guinean immigrants.On August 14, the government implemented the 2023-2026 Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence and provided a 33 percent increase in funds to prevent and combat FGM, as well as child, early, and forced marriages.The CIG, together with the Lisbon airport, carried out an awareness campaign in airports called “There is no turning back,” in which billboards in several languages warned about FGM practices young girls could face when returning to their home countries during holiday months.The National School of Public Health, Nova University of Lisbon, held a postgraduate course on FGM. The initiative was part of the Healthy Practices: End Female Genital Mutilation project, launched in 2018 and coordinated among the High Commission for Migration, the CIG, and the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Administration of Health.Discrimination: The constitution and law provided the same legal status and rights for women as for men, including under family, religious, personal status, and nationality laws, as well as laws related to labor, property, inheritance, employment, access to credit, and owning or managing businesses or property. The government enforced the law effectively.Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence; postexposure prophylaxis and emergency contraception were available as part of clinical management of rape.																																				Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination										The constitution and laws provided for the protection of members of racial and ethnic minority groups. These included legal protection against discriminatory acts and practices. This protection covered discrimination on the grounds of ancestry, sex, race, age, disability, language, territory of origin, religion, and political or ideological convictions. By law, hate crimes included assault and murder motivated by racial or religious hatred, genocide, racial and religious discrimination and related intolerance, insults on grounds of religion and desecration of cemeteries.The Romani ethnic minority experienced local governmental and societal discrimination. Many Roma lived in encampments consisting of barracks, shacks, and tents. Many settlements were in areas isolated from the rest of the population and often lacked basic infrastructure, such as access to drinking water, electricity, or waste disposal facilities. Some localities constructed walls around Romani settlements. Media reported alleged police harassment, misconduct, and abuses against Roma.In some localities the government provided integration and access to services for the Roma, including vaccination campaigns, monitoring of prenatal care, scholarship programs, assistance in finding employment, and a mediation program staffed by ethnic Romani mediators in the Office of the High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue.The Commission for Equality and Against Racial Discrimination was mandated to prevent and prohibit racial discrimination and to penalize actions that resulted in the violation of fundamental rights by any person based on race, ethnic origin, color, nationality, ancestry, or territory of origin. Most complaints alleged discrimination occurred on social media or in the service and health sectors.																																				Children										Child Abuse: The constitution provided for basic rights of the child, and laws protected children against, among other things, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical and emotional neglect; the government generally enforced the law. Traffickers exploited children from Eastern Europe, including Romani children, for forced begging and forced criminal activity in the country. A child abuse database was accessible to law enforcement and child protection services. The government conducted awareness campaigns against child abuse and sexual exploitation. The government prohibited convicted child abusers from work or volunteer activities involving contact with children.Group Vita, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) established by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference to address sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, recorded a rise in requests for help after the Pope’s visit to the country in August and his comments regarding the need to recognize victims of sexual abuse.Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum age for marriage was 18 for women and men, but both sexes could marry at 16 with the consent of both parents, a guardian, or a court decision. Authorities effectively enforced the law.Sexual Exploitation of Children: Statutory rape was a crime with penalties ranging up to 10 years in prison. The minimum age for legal consensual sex was 16. The law prohibited child pornography, and authorities enforced the law.The law prohibited the sale, grooming, or use of children for commercial sexual exploitation, including child sex trafficking. Experts expressed concerns regarding gaps in the government’s efforts to proactively identify trafficking victims.																																				Antisemitism										Estimates placed the Jewish population at 3,000 to 4,000 persons.During the year, leaders of the Porto Jewish community alleged they were victims of a campaign of antisemitism and intimidation by government authorities due to an ongoing investigation on suspicion of fraudulent activity involving the 2015 law allowing Portuguese citizenship to descendants of Sephardic Jews. On March 11, 2022, the Judicial Police executed search warrants at a Porto synagogue and arrested a prominent rabbi for alleged irregularities in the certification of Sephardic ancestry for citizenship applicants. The government stated the arrest was part of a fraud investigation.Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, a synagogue in Porto was defaced with pro-Palestinian graffiti on October 11.For further information on incidents in the country of antisemitism, whether or not those incidents were motivated by religion, and for reporting on the ability of Jews to exercise freedom of religion or belief, please see the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at  https://www.state.gov/religiousfreedomreport/.																																				Trafficking in Persons										See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report.																																				Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics										Criminalization: No laws criminalized consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, cross-dressing, or other sexual or gender characteristic-related behaviors. Seemingly neutral laws were not disproportionately applied to LGBTQI+ persons to justify arbitrary arrest.Violence and Harassment: The national chapter of the International, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) registered 118 complaints of harassment from LGBTQI+ persons in 2022, a decrease of 49 percent compared to the same period in 2021.The police investigated, prosecuted, and punished those complicit in violence and abuses by state or nonstate actors against LGBTQI+ persons.Discrimination: The constitution and the law prohibited discrimination by state and nonstate actors based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, including with respect to essential goods and services such as housing, employment, and access to government services such as health care. The law explicitly recognized LGBTQI+ couples and their families and granted them rights equal to the rights of other persons. The government generally enforced such laws effectively.The ILGA reported a significant number of online hate speech cases and an increase in social discrimination in public places. On September 22 seven persons interrupted the presentation of a children’s book about equality and inclusion with sexist and homophobic threats at a Lisbon bookstore. Parliamentary speaker Augusto Santos Silva called the incident “absolutely unacceptable.”Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Adults could update their gender markers on identity documents through a simple administrative process with no other requirements such as medical interventions or psychological diagnoses. A law on the right of self-determination allowed children ages 16 and 17 to do the same with parental consent and a psychological opinion.Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices: On April 21, parliament passed several bills to criminalize so-called conversion therapy practices, including talk therapy and the use of drugs or hormones, but they had not entered into force by year’s end.The government banned nonconsensual surgeries on intersex adults and children.Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no laws or other restrictions on individuals speaking or media reporting on LGBTQI+ matters, on the ability of LGBTQI+ individuals to assemble in public or private or to form associations, or on the ability of LGBTQI+ organizations to legally register or convene events.																																				Persons with Disabilities										The constitution and law prohibited discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. The government generally enforced the law effectively. The law mandated access to public and private buildings, information, and communication for persons with disabilities. Government information and communication on disability concerns were provided in accessible formats. By law persons with disabilities had the right to access education, health services, public buildings, and transportation on an equal basis with others; however, access was not always available.The Portuguese Association for the Disabled (APD) reported receiving complaints regarding lack of accessibility for persons with disabilities, such as buildings without ramps, excessively narrow and uneven sidewalks, transportation without elevator access, and public buses lacking wheelchair lifts. Urban public transport buses were equipped with lift platforms for seats, but these were not always operational. During election periods, the APD received complaints concerning polling stations that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. In January the association Center for Independent Life reported the government missed a deadline to enforce a law allowing persons with 80 percent or more disability to take early retirement without losing benefits.Children with disabilities attended school through secondary education at the same rate as other children, together with their peers without disabilities.																																					Section 7.													 Worker Rights												    																																																a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining										The law provided for the right of most workers to form and join independent unions, bargain collectively, and conduct legal strikes. The government generally respected these rights. The law prohibited antiunion discrimination and required reinstatement of workers fired for union activity.While the law provided for freedom of association and collective bargaining, several restrictions limited these rights. The rights of police officers and members of the armed forces were limited. The Judiciary Police, Foreigners and Borders Service, and prison guards could strike, but the Public Security Police and Republican National Guard could not. If a long strike occurred in a sector deemed essential, such as justice, health, energy, or transportation, the government could order strikers back to work for a specified period. Unions considered the list of essential sectors to be overly broad. Unions reported the effectiveness of strikes was limited by compulsory conciliation and arbitration as prerequisites to strikes, restrictions on the scope of strikes, and restrictions on the types of strike actions permitted.The law required unions to represent at least 50 percent of workers in a sector for collective bargaining units to be extended beyond the enterprise level. Public sector employee unions had the right to discuss and consult with their employers on conditions of work, but they did not have the right to negotiate binding contracts. There was a lack of clarity regarding criteria for union representation in the Permanent Commission for Social Partnerships, a tripartite advisory body. The law named specific unions, rather than giving participation rights to the most representative unions.The government effectively enforced these laws. Resources, including inspections and remediation, were adequate. Penalties for violations ranged from fines to imprisonment and were commensurate with those for other laws involving denials of civil rights, such as discrimination. Penalties were regularly applied against violators. Administrative and judicial procedures were subjected to lengthy delays or appeals.Authorities generally respected freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. Worker organizations generally operated free from government interference. Requirements for enterprise-level bargaining by work councils sometimes prevented local union representatives from bargaining directly on behalf of workers. There were instances of employers undermining strikes using last-minute minimum-service requirements. According to labor union representatives, some workers received threats that union participation would result in negative performance reviews.																																				b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor										See the Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report at  https://www.state.gov/trafficking in-persons-report/.																																				c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment										The law prohibited all the worst forms of child labor. The statutory minimum age for employment was 16. The law prohibited the employment of persons younger than 18 at night, for overtime work, or in sectors considered hazardous. The Working Conditions Authority (ACT) in the Ministry of Solidarity, Employment, and Social Security had primary responsibility for enforcement of the minimum age law and enforced it effectively in major industries and the service sector. The government effectively enforced applicable laws, and penalties were commensurate with those for other serious crimes. Penalties were sometimes applied against violators. Resources and inspections were adequate.Child labor occurred in limited cases. Labor traffickers exploited children of Romani descent through forced begging and forced criminality. Sub-Saharan trafficking networks sometimes used the country as a route into the Schengen area to exploit children in sex trafficking and forced labor.  https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/findings/ 																																				d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																														e. Acceptable Conditions of Work										Wage and Hour Laws: The minimum wage covered full-time workers, rural workers, and domestic employees who were at least 18 years of age, and it was above the poverty income level. The labor code established a maximum of eight hours of daily work and 40 hours of weekly work. Violations of wage, hour, and overtime laws were most common in the farming and fishing sectors. Some workers faced labor market segmentation as employers applied alternative forms of employment such as temporary agency work and independent contractors. These types of employment – including in the agriculture and services sectors – left workers in insecure positions, without access to a reliable ongoing income, and impacted those most vulnerable in society, particularly immigrants.Occupational Safety and Health: Occupational safety and health (OSH) standards were set by ACT and were appropriate for the main industries in the country. ACT inspectors proactively identified unsafe conditions and responded to workers’ OSH complaints. Workers could remove themselves from situations that endangered health or safety without jeopardy to their employment, and authorities effectively protected employees in this situation. There were reports of alleged violations of OSH standards in sectors such as agriculture and services.Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: ACT was responsible for enforcement of wage, hour, and OSH standards in the formal sector. The government effectively enforced the laws, and penalties for violations of laws were commensurate with those for crimes such as fraud or negligence and were sufficient to deter violations and enforce compliance. Penalties were sometimes applied against violators for wage, hour, and OSH violations. Resources, inspections, number of inspectors, and remediation were adequate, according to ACT. In 2020 (the last available full data) there were 417 inspectors for a working population of more than five million. Inspectors had authority to conduct unannounced inspections and initiate sanctions, and they did not face moratoriums on inspections during the year.Workers had the right to file confidential grievances with ACT regarding hazardous conditions or circumstances they believed endangered their health. Inspectors had the right to conduct inspections at any private or public company at any time without warning, and they could shut down a workplace or a business permanently or temporarily if there was imminent danger to workers’ health or safety. Workers were registered with social security services, whose funds covered their mandatory insurance for occupational diseases and work-related accidents. ACT conducted studies on labor accidents, salaries, and working conditions. It could impose administrative penalties and file lawsuits against employers. It had the right to access company records, files, and archives, and it could provide mediation services to resolve individual or group labor disputes. Labor enforcement tended to be less rigorous in sectors such as construction and agriculture, where there were many small or family businesses and where most immigrant workers were employed, according to NGOs.Workers in the informal sector and part-time workers were covered by labor laws, although there were reports illegalities were challenging to detect and control, making it difficult for the government to adequately enforce labor laws. According to a study by the School of Economics and Management of the University of Porto, the informal economy represented 34.37 percent of GDP in 2022, corresponding to more than €82 million ($88.6 million).																																				    							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Respect for the Integrity of the Person																																							a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings																																																						b. Disappearance																																																						c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses																																																				Prison and Detention Center Conditions																																																																																				d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention																																																				Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees																																																																																				e. Denial of Fair Public Trial																																																				Trial Procedures																																												Political Prisoners and Detainees																																																																																				f. Transnational Repression																																																						g. Property Seizure and Restitution																																																						h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence																																																			Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties																																							a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the Press and Other Media																																																				Internet Freedom																																																																																				b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association																																																						c. Freedom of Religion																																																						d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the Country																																																						e. Protection of Refugees																																																			Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process																																							Elections and Political Participation																																																			Section 4. Corruption in Government																Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights																Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses																																							Women																																																						Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination																																																						Children																																																						Antisemitism																																																						Trafficking in Persons																																																						Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics																																																						Persons with Disabilities																																																			Section 7. Worker Rights																																							a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining																																																						b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor																																																						c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment																																																						d. Discrimination (see section 6)																																																						e. Acceptable Conditions of Work																																																									Tags																					Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor																								Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs																								Portugal
- Assistant Secretary of State Satterfield Travels to Portugal HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases&#8230;Assistant Secretary of State Satterfield Travels to Portugal				hide		if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}																										Assistant Secretary of State Satterfield Travels to Portugal																																		Media Note																														February 26, 2024																																							From February 26-29, 2024, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Lee Satterfield will travel to Lisbon, Portugal to join U.S. Ambassador to Portugal Randi Charno Levine at L’USAfonia &#8211; The Soul of Black History Month, the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon’s celebration concert featuring Afro-descendant Lusophone artists performing Black American hits from the 1960s and 1970s as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative.  The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, launched by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in September 2023, aims to promote peace and democracy through music, and supports broader U.S. foreign policy goals to expand access to education, economic opportunity and equity, and societal inclusion. L’USAfonia &#8211; The Soul of Black History Month, which will be held Tuesday, February 27 at 7 p.m. GMT at the historic São Luiz Teatro Municipal in Lisbon, will feature U.S. Arts Envoy and American jazz sensation Laurin Talese, as well as performances from leading Lusophone artists and musicians from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe.&nbsp; It will be streamed live via YouTube and may be watched&nbsp;here.In addition to&nbsp;L’USAfonia, Assistant Secretary Satterfield will engage both Ukrainian and Portuguese women participating in the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs, a Department of State public diplomacy program that&nbsp;provides women entrepreneurs the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch or scale successful businesses.&nbsp; She will also meet with the U.S.-Portugal Fulbright Commission, the Luso-American Development Foundation, as well as alumnae of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), the Department’s professional exchange program that brings current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields of experience to the United States for a short-term visit with their American counterparts.For further information, please contact&nbsp;ECA-Press@state.gov.&nbsp;						Tags																					Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs																								Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs																																Music Diplomacy																															Office of the Spokesperson																								Portugal
- Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Senior Officials Meeting HomeOffice of the SpokespersonPress Releases&#8230;Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Senior Officials Meeting				hide		if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}																										Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation Senior Officials Meeting																																		Media Note																														February 20, 2024																																							Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Ambassador Jessye&nbsp;Lapenn&nbsp;hosted the second virtual meeting of senior representatives from&nbsp;34&nbsp;members of the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation&nbsp;on February 15, 2024.&nbsp;&nbsp;Partnership members&nbsp;agreed&nbsp;to&nbsp;advance&nbsp;collaboration&nbsp;on marine spatial planning,&nbsp;led by Spain, Morocco, and&nbsp;Angola;&nbsp;and&nbsp;scientific&nbsp;capacity&nbsp;building&nbsp;and exchange&nbsp;led by Portugal, the United States,&nbsp;and&nbsp;others.&nbsp;&nbsp;Members also&nbsp;decided to&nbsp;convene&nbsp;a variety of workshops in 2024&nbsp;on&nbsp;issues of mutual interest such as:&nbsp;marine plastic pollution;&nbsp;abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear;&nbsp;food and nutrition security;&nbsp;and innovative financing tools for the conservation and&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;use of&nbsp;marine resources in the&nbsp;Atlantic&nbsp;Ocean.&nbsp;The Partnership will continue to&nbsp;advance&nbsp;scientific cooperation by sharing information and building capacity.&nbsp;&nbsp;The senior officials agreed&nbsp;to support the development of marine spatial plans as a critical tool for&nbsp;sustainable economic and social development in Atlantic coastal states, and&nbsp;to foster comprehensive&nbsp;Atlantic&nbsp;Ocean data collection, sharing, and analysis.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Partnership engages in collective problem-solving of shared challenges and advances shared principles for Atlantic cooperation, as reflected in the Declaration on Atlantic Cooperation adopted in New York in September 2023.&nbsp;&nbsp;Members share a commitment to a peaceful, prosperous, open, and cooperative Atlantic region, while protecting the ocean as a healthy, sustainable, and resilient resource for generations to come.&nbsp;The Partnership welcomed several new members and&nbsp;now totals 38 coastal Atlantic countries from Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean.&nbsp;For more information, please visit the Atlantic Cooperation website.  For media inquiries, contact OES-Press@state.gov.						Tags																					Angola																								Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs																																Maritime Matters																															Morocco																								Office of the Spokesperson																								Portugal																																Scientific and Technological Cooperation																															Spain
- Portugal HomeReportsBureau of Economic and Business Affairs2023 Investment Climate Statements&#8230;Portugal				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Investment Climate Statements: Portugal																																																																																												 In this section										/																							EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																																													EXECUTIVE SUMMARY																															1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																																									Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																																											Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																																											Business Facilitation																																																																											Outward Investment																																																																																	2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																															3. Legal Regime																																																									Transparency of the Regulatory System																																																																											International Regulatory Considerations																																																																											Legal System and Judicial Independence																																																																											Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment																																																																											Competition and Antitrust Laws																																																																											Expropriation and Compensation																																																																											Dispute Settlement																																																																			ICSID Convention and New York Convention																																																								Investor-State Dispute Settlement																																																								International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts																																																																																																																		Bankruptcy Regulations																																																																																	4. Industrial Policies																																																									Investment Incentives																																																																											Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																																											Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																																																	5. Protection of Property Rights																																																									Real Property																																																																											Intellectual Property Rights																																																																																	6. Financial Sector																																																									Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																																											Money and Banking System																																																																											Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																																			Foreign Exchange																																																								Remittance Policies																																																																																																																		Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																																											7. State-Owned Enterprises																																																																											Privatization Program																																																																																	8. Responsible Business Conduct																																																									Climate Issues																																																																																	9. Corruption																																																									Resources to Report Corruption																																																																																	10. Political and Security Environment																															11. Labor Policies and Practices																															12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																															13. Foreign Direct Investment Statistics																															14. Contact for More Information																																																					EXECUTIVE SUMMARY				Following an 8.4% contraction in GDP in 2020, Portugal bounced back strongly from the pandemic with the economy accelerating 4.9% in 2021 and 6.7% in 2022, partially due to the EU’s fiscal and monetary stimulus. The important tourism sector was also a big factor. U.S. tourists, for example, jumped to about 1.5 million in 2022, beating the pre-pandemic record of 1.2 million in 2019. As a result, the labor market continues to show remarkable resiliency, with unemployment at 6% in 2022, down from 6.6% in 2021. The Socialist Portuguese government has showed a strong commitment to reducing the fiscal debt and deficit, progressively improving its sovereign credit ratings.The rosy post-pandemic economy was severely impacted by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, causing a spike in energy and food costs that fed into inflation, running at 7.4% in March 2023. As the ECB raises interest rates and withdraws its loose monetary policy in response, Portuguese households are especially vulnerable, as about 80% of mortgages are variable rate. GDP expansion is expected to slow down to 1.3% in 2023 and labor strife has increased. Longer term, Portugal has also struggled with a chronic emigration of highly qualified workers for higher paying careers in Switzerland, France, the UK, Luxembourg and elsewhere. Combined with low fertility rates, Portugal would face a demographic collapse, without net immigration from Brazil and elsewhere.As of 2022, the three top FDI sources were Spain (€25.7 billion), France (€17.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (€13.4 billion). The United States is an increasingly significant player, with an €8.2 billion FDI stock in 2022. Many U.S. companies have established business/service delivery centers in Portugal, taking advantage of Portugal’s relatively low-cost, talented, and multilingual labor force. Portugal’s tech startup scene is thriving, with firms tapping into the U.S. startup ecosystem for funding, knowhow, networks and customers, which ultimately produces new jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. However, Portugal also ranks second highest in terms of PRC investments in Europe (in relation to GDP), predominantly in premier Portuguese companies, which the PRC leverages to reach other markets in Europe, Latin America and Africa. New PRC investments are planned in electric batteries and other renewable energy areas. Nonetheless, there has been some recent progress in countering PRC influence in Portugal, from 5G to investment screening, as Portugal tries to align with EU directives.While increased U.S. LNG supplies were crucial to mitigate supply shocks last year, Portugal has embarked on an unprecedented push into renewable energy and electric mobility, creating opportunities in everything from offshore wind and green hydrogen to lithium mining and refining and battery technology.Table 1: Key Metrics and RankingsMeasureYearIndex/RankWebsite AdressTI Corruption Perceptions Index202233 of 180http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overviewGlobal Innovation Index202232 of 132https://www.globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicatorU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, historical stock positions)2021USD 2,154https://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheetWorld Bank GNI per capita2021USD 12, 026http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CDWorld Bank GNI per Capita (current USD): Portugal  2021 – 23,890United States of America: 2021 &#8211; 70,930																																					1. Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment						    																																																Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment										The government of Portugal (GOP) maintains an open-door policy toward foreign direct investment (FDI) that completely lacks any national security screening of foreign investments. Portuguese law is based on non-discrimination principles, meaning foreign and domestic investors are subject to the same rules. Foreign investment is not subject to any special registration or notification to any authority, with exception of a few specific activities.The Portuguese Agency for Foreign Investment and Commerce (AICEP) is the lead for promotion of trade and investment. AICEP is responsible for attracting FDI, global promotion of Portuguese brands, and export of goods and services. It is the primary point of contact for investors with projects over € 25 million or companies with sales of more than € 75 million. For foreign investments not meeting these thresholds, AICEP will make a preliminary analysis and direct the investor to assistance agencies such as the Institute of Support to Small- and Medium- Sized Enterprises and Innovation (IAPMEI), a public agency within the Ministry of Economy that provides technical support, or to AICEP Capital Global, which offers technology transfer, incubator programs, and venture capital support. AICEP does not favor specific sectors for investment promotion. It does, however, provide a “Prominent Clusters” guide on its website, where it advocates investment in Portuguese companies by sector. Additionally, Portugal has introduced the website Simplex, designed to help navigate starting a business.The Portuguese government maintains contact with investors through the Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP), the Portuguese Commerce and Services Confederation (CCP), the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIP) and other industry associations.																																				Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment										There are no legal restrictions in Portugal on foreign investment. To establish a new business, foreign investors must follow the same rules as domestic investors, including mandatory registration and compliance with regulatory obligations for specific activities. There are no nationality requirements and no limitations on the repatriation of profits or dividends.Non-resident shareholders must obtain a Portuguese taxpayer number for tax purposes. EU residents may obtain this number directly from the tax administration (in person or by means of an appointed proxy); non-EU residents must appoint a Portuguese resident representative to handle matters with tax authorities.Portugal enacted a national security investment review framework in 2014 which gave the Council of Ministers authority to block specific foreign investment transactions that would compromise national security. Reviews can be triggered on national security grounds in high-risk strategic industries like energy, transportation, and communication. Investment reviews can be conducted in cases where the purchaser acquiring control is an individual or entity not registered in an EU member state. In such instances, the review process is overseen by the relevant Portuguese Ministry based on the assets in question. While Portugal has yet to activate its investment screening mechanism, the government has indicated that an interagency working group from the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and European Affairs will be reactivated to align the Portuguese investment screening law with the EU directive to yield concrete results.Portuguese government approval is required in the following sensitive sectors: defense, water management, public telecommunications, railways, maritime transportation, and air transport. Any economic activity that involves the exercise of public authority also requires government approval; private sector companies can operate in these areas only through a concession contract.Portugal additionally limits foreign investment with respect to the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity, the production of gas, the pipeline transportation of fuels, wholesale services of electricity, retailing services of electricity and non-bottled gas, and services incidental to electricity and natural gas distribution. Concessions in the electricity and gas sectors are assigned only to companies with headquarters and effective management in Portugal.Investors wishing to establish new credit institutions or finance companies, acquire a controlling interest in such financial firms, and/or establish a subsidiary must have authorization from the Bank of Portugal (for EU firms) or the Ministry of Finance (for non-EU firms). Non-EU insurance companies seeking to establish presence in Portugal must post a special deposit and financial guarantee and must have been authorized for such activity by the Ministry of Finance for at least five years.There are no local presence or nationality-based requirements for business governance or board representation.																																				Other Investment Policy Reviews										In the past five years, the government has not undergone any third-party investment policy reviews (IPRs) through a multilateral organization such as the OECD, WTO, UNCTAD, or UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.																																				Business Facilitation										To combat the perception of a cumbersome regulatory environment, the government has created ‘cutting red tape’ measures described in the website  Simplex  (simplex.gov.pt) that details steps taken since 2005 to reduce bureaucracy, and the “Business in an Hour” program that facilitates company incorporations by citizens and non-citizens.Portuguese citizens can alternatively register a business online through the “Citizen’s Portal” available at  Portal do Cidadão . Companies must also register with the Directorate General for Economic Activity (DGAE), the Tax Authority (AT), and with the Social Security administration. The government’s standard for online business registration is a two-to-three-day turnaround, but the online registration process can take as little as one day.Portugal defines an enterprise as micro-, small-, and medium-sized based on its headcount, annual turnover, or the size of its balance sheet. The Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) Support Institute ( IAPMEI ) offers financing, training, and other services for SMEs based in Portugal.More information on laws, procedures, registration requirements, and investment incentives for foreign investors in Portugal is available at AICEP’s  website .Established in 2012, Portugal’s “Golden Visa” program gave fast-track residence permits to foreign investors who meet certain conditions, such as making substantial capital transfers and creating certain real estate acquisitions. Between 2012 and February 2023, Portugal issued 11,758 ‘Golden Visas,’ representing €6.8 billion of investment, of which more than €6.1 billion went to real estate. Chinese nationals have been the main beneficiaries of the special program for residence permits, accounting for almost 50% (5,291) of the total, followed by Brazilians (1,187) and Russian (431). In February 2022, the government issued a visa suspension to Russian citizens due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. On March 28, 2022, the European Commission urged member states to immediately repeal such investor citizenship schemes, which the Commission views as posing inherent risks. On February 16, 2023, Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced plans to end Portugal’s Golden Visa as part of a larger government package aimed at addressing the lack of affordable housing in Portugal. Foreign real estate buyers who wish to renew their existing golden visas will only be eligible if their properties are used as their own homes, or if these units are placed in the long-term rental market.																																				Outward Investment										The Portuguese government does not restrict domestic investors from investing abroad and promotes outward investment through AICEP’s customer managers, export stores and its external commercial network that, in cooperation with the diplomatic and consular network, are operating in about 80 markets.  AICEP  provides support and advisory services on the best way of approaching foreign markets, identifying international business opportunities for Portuguese companies, particularly SMEs.																																												2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties						    																						Portugal does not have a bilateral investment agreement with the United States. However, it has investment agreements with more than 100 countries. For a complete list of investment agreements currently in force, please see the  UNCTAD Navigator .Portugal signed an  Income Tax Treaty  with the United States in 1994 to prevent double taxation and tax evasion. In 2015, Portugal signed an  agreement  with the United States to improve international tax compliance and implement the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).Portugal is a member of the OECD Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and party to the Inclusive Framework’s deal on the two-pillar solution to global tax challenges, including a global minimum corporate tax.																																		3. Legal Regime						    																																																Transparency of the Regulatory System										The government of Portugal employs transparent policies and effective laws to foster competition, and the legal system welcomes FDI on a non-discriminatory basis, establishing clear rules of the game. Legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are consistent with international norms. Public finances and debt obligations are transparent, with data regularly published by the Bank of Portugal, the IGCP debt management agency, and the Ministry of Finance. Regulations drafted by ministries or agencies must be approved by parliament and, in some cases, by European authorities. All proposed regulations are subject to a 20-to-30-day public consultation period during which the proposed measure is published on the relevant ministry or regulator’s website. Only after ministries or regulatory agencies have conducted an impact assessment of the proposed regulation can the text be enacted and published. The process can be monitored and consulted at the official websites of  Parliament  and the Official Portuguese Republic Journal. Ministries or regulatory agencies report the results of the consultations through a consolidated response published on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator.Rule-making and regulatory authorities exist across sectors including energy, telecommunications, securities markets, financial, and health. Regulations are enforced at the local level through district courts, on the national level through the Court of Auditors, and at the supra-national level through EU mechanisms including the European Court of Justice, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank. The OECD, the European Commission, and the IMF also publish key regulatory actions and analysis.  UTAO , the Parliamentary Technical Budget Support Unit, is a nonpartisan body composed of economic and legal experts that support parliamentary budget deliberations by providing the Budget Committee with quality analytical reports on the executive’s budget proposals. In addition, the  Portuguese Public Finance Council  conducts an independent assessment of the consistency, compliance with stated objectives, and sustainability of public finances, while promoting fiscal transparency.The legal, regulatory, and accounting systems are transparent and consistent with international norms. Since 2005, all listed companies must comply with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (“IFRS”), which closely parallels the U.S. GAAP-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Portugal’s Competition Authority enforces adherence to domestic competition and public procurement rules. The European Commission further ensures adhesion to EU administrative processes among its member states.Public finances are generally deemed transparent, closely scrutinized by Eurostat and monitored by an independent technical budget support unit, UTAO, and the Supreme Audit Institution ‘Tribunal de Contas.’ Portugal has also consolidated within the State accounts many state-owned enterprises, making budget analysis more accurate.The government promotes companies’ voluntary environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures to facilitate transparency. Under Portugal’s climate base law, state companies are asked to consider climate change in their corporate governance and incorporate a climate risk analysis in the decision-making process. The law asks companies to assess the carbon impact of their activity yearly and establish a total greenhouse gas emissions limit. Publicly listed companies are expected to disclose ESG information in their financial and non-financial statements to the Securities Markets Commission (CMVM). For non-listed companies, oversight of ESG aspects falls on the shareholders rather than a specific regulatory authority.																																				International Regulatory Considerations										Portugal has been a member of the EU since 1986, a member of the Schengen area since 1995, and joined the Eurozone in 1999. With the Treaty of Lisbon’s entry into force in 2009, trade policy and rules on foreign direct investment became mostly EU competencies, as part of the bloc’s common commercial policy. The European Central Bank is the central bank for the euro and determines monetary policy and conducts banking supervision for significant financial institutions in the 20 Eurozone member states, including Portugal. Portugal has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 1995.																																				Legal System and Judicial Independence										The Portuguese legal system is a civil law system, based on Roman law. The hierarchy among various sources of law is as follows: (i) Constitutional laws and amendments; (ii) the rules and principles of general or common international law and international agreements; (iii) ordinary laws enacted by Parliament; (iv) instruments having an effective equivalent to that of laws, including approved international conventions or decisions of the Constitutional Court; and (v) regulations used to supplement and implement laws. The country’s Commercial Company Law and Civil Code define Portugal’s legal treatment of corporations and contracts. Portugal has a Supreme Court and specialized family courts, labor courts, commercial courts, maritime courts, intellectual property courts, and competition courts. Regulations or enforcement actions are appealable, and are adjudicated in national Appellate Courts, with the possibility to appeal to the European Court of Justice. The judicial system is independent of the executive branch and the judicial process procedurally competent, fair, and reliable. Regulations and enforcement actions are appealable.																																				Laws and Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment										The Bank of Portugal defines FDI as “an act or contract that obtains or increases enduring economic links with an existing Portuguese institution or one to be formed.” A non-resident who invests in at least 10 percent of a resident company’s equity and participates in the company’s decision-making is considered a foreign direct investor. Current information on laws, procedures, registration requirements, and investment incentives for foreign investors in Portugal is available at AICEP’s  website .																																				Competition and Antitrust Laws										The domestic agency that reviews transactions for competition-related concerns is the Portuguese Competition Authority and the international agency is the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition. Portuguese law specifically prohibits collusion between companies to fix prices, limit supplies, share markets or sources of supply, discriminate in transactions, or force unrelated obligations on other parties. Similar prohibitions apply to any company or group with a dominant market position. The law also requires prior government notification of mergers or acquisitions that would give a company more than 30 percent market share in a sector, or mergers or acquisitions among entities whose total sales exceeded €150 million during the preceding financial year. The Competition Authority has 60 days to determine if the merger or acquisition can proceed. The European Commission may claim authority on cross-border competition issues or those involving entities large enough to have a significant EU market share.																																				Expropriation and Compensation										Under Portugal’s Expropriation Code, the government may expropriate property and its associated rights in the public interest, and upon payment of prompt, adequate, and effective compensation. The code outlines criteria for calculating fair compensation based on market values. The decision to expropriate as well as the fairness of compensation can be challenged in national courts.																																				Dispute Settlement																										ICSID Convention and New York Convention						Portugal has been a member of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention – also known as the Washington Convention) since 1965. Portugal has been a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards since January 1995. Portugal’s national arbitration law No. 63-2011 of December 14, 2011, enforces awards under the 1958 New York Convention and the ICSID Convention.						Investor-State Dispute Settlement						Portugal has ratified the 1927 Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards, and in 2002 ratified the 1975 Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration.Portugal’s Voluntary Arbitration Law, enacted in 2011, is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, and applies to all arbitration proceedings in Portugal. The leading commercial arbitration institution is the  Arbitration Center  of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.The government promotes non-judicial dispute resolution through the Ministry of Justice’s  Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution (GRAL) , including conciliation, mediation or arbitration. Portuguese courts recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards issued against the government. There have been no recent extrajudicial actions against foreign investors.						International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Courts						Arbitration is the preferred alternative dispute resolution mechanism in Portugal. The country has a long-standing tradition of arbitration in administrative and contract disputes. It has also become the standard mechanism for resolving tax disputes between private citizens or companies and tax authorities, as well as in pharmaceutical patent disputes.Portugal has four domestic arbitration bodies: 1) The Arbitration Center of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAC); 2) CONCORDIA (Centro de Conciliacao, Mediacao, de Conflictos de Arbritragem); 3) Arbitrare (Centro de Arbitragem para a Propriedade Industrial, Nomes de Dominio, Firmas e Denominacoes); and 4) the Instituto de Arbitragem Commercial do Porto. Each arbitration body has its own regulations, but all comply with the Portuguese Arbitration Law 63/11, which came into force in March 2012. The Arbitration Council of the Centre for Commercial Arbitration also follows New York Convention, Washington Convention, and Panama Convention guidelines. Arbitration Law 63/11 follows the standard established by the UNCITRAL Model Law, but is not an exact copy of that text.Under the Portuguese Constitution, the Civil Code of Procedure (CCP) and the New York Convention, applied in Portugal since 1995, awards rendered in a foreign country must be recognized by the Portuguese courts before they can be enforced in Portugal. There is no legal authority in Portugal on the enforceability of foreign awards set aside at the seat of the arbitration. The CCP sets forth the legal regime applicable to all judicial procedures related to arbitration, including appointment of arbitrators, determination of arbitrators’ fees, challenge of arbitrators, appeal (where admissible), setting aside, enforcement (and opposition to enforcement) and recognition of foreign arbitral awards.While Portugal’s judicial system has historically been considered relatively slow and inefficient, the country has taken several important steps, including simplifying land registry procedures and increasing the portfolio of online services.																										Bankruptcy Regulations										Portugal’s Insolvency and Corporate Recovery Code defines insolvency as a debtor’s inability to meet commitments as they fall due. Corporations are also considered insolvent when their liabilities clearly exceed their assets. A debtor, creditor or any person responsible for the debtor’s liabilities can initiate insolvency proceedings in a commercial court. The court assumes the key role of ensuring compliance with legal rules governing insolvency proceedings, with particular responsibility for ruling on the legality of insolvency and payment plans approved by creditors. After declaration of insolvency, creditors may submit their claims to the court-appointed insolvency administrator for a specific term set for this purpose, typically up to 30 days. Creditors must submit details regarding the amount, maturity, guarantees, and nature of their claims. Claims are ranked as follows: (i) claims over the insolvent’s estate, i.e. court fees related to insolvency proceedings; (ii) secured claims; (iii) privileged claims; (iv) common, unsecured claims; and (v) subordinated claims, including those of shareholders.																																												4. Industrial Policies						    																																																Investment Incentives										The Portuguese government offers investment incentives that can be tailored to individual investors’ needs and capital, based on industry, investment size, and project sustainability, including grants, tax credits and deferrals, access to loans, and reduced cost of land. Investment agency AICEP actively recruits investors across the globe, intermediating the terms on a case-by-case basis for the larger investments. The Autonomous Regions of  Madeira  and the  Azores  also offer investment incentives. Since Portugal is an EU Member, potential investors may be able to access European funds, providing further incentives. Such support has been used by Portugal to co-finance key investments in the areas of research and development, information and communications technology, transport, water, solid waste, energy efficiency and renewable energy, urban regeneration, health, education, and culture.In 2020, Portugal merged ‘PME Investimentos’ and the ‘Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento’ (IFD) to create Banco Português de Fomento. The IFD is a national promotion bank tasked with providing credit to companies, managing State-guarantee schemes and supporting companies by helping them strengthen their capital structure, exports, and internationalization. It manages a €200 million co-investment fund. Through Portugal Ventures, a state-financed private equity company, the government has a risk capital arm that finances the growth of the Portuguese entrepreneurship ecosystem. This entity is part of the public business sector, operating under the same terms and conditions that apply to private companies and subject to the general domestic and community competition rules. Its funds are under the supervision of the Portuguese Securities Market Commission, CMVM.																																				Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation										Portugal has one foreign trade zone (FTZ)/free port in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, established in 1987. Continued operation of the  International Business Centre of Madeira ’s corporate tax regime is authorized by EU rules on incentives granted to member states. Industrial and commercial activities, international service activities, trust and trust management companies, and offshore financial branches are all eligible. Companies established in the foreign trade zone/free port enjoy import- and export-related benefits, financial incentives, tax incentives for investors and companies.Under EU rules, company profits benefitting from income tax reductions must originate exclusively from substantive activities carried out in Madeira and these companies must create and maintain jobs in Madeira, conditions the Commission is concerned Portuguese authorities may have failed to respect.																																				Performance and Data Localization Requirements										Portugal does not impose performance requirements or mandate specific local employment conditions for foreign investors. Qualification standards for investment incentives are applied uniformly to domestic and foreign investors. There is a high level of labor mobility between Portugal and other EU member states. To work in Portugal, non-EU foreign nationals must be sponsored for a work permit by a Portuguese employer. There are no nationality-related restrictions that affect a foreign national’s ability to serve in senior management or on a board of directors. Foreign or expatriate workers with appropriate work authorizations are entitled to the same rights and subject to the same laws as employees with Portuguese citizenship.While Portugal does not force data localization, according to the Portuguese Data Protection Law (pursuant to the EU’s 1995 Data Protection Directive) “data controllers,” i.e., people or corporations that process personal data, must register with the National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD). Data transfers outside the EU are only allowed if the recipient country or company ensures an adequate level of protection. Portugal is subject to new rules stipulated in the EU’s  General Data Protection Regulation. There are no requirements for foreign IT providers to turn over source code and/or provide access to encryption; the same rules apply to foreign IT providers as apply to national providers.Data transfers to other countries within the EU do not require prior authorization from the CNPD. However, data transfers to countries outside the EU can only take place in compliance with the Data Protection Law, meaning the receiving state must also provide an adequate level of protection to personal data. If the receiving state does not ensure an adequate level of protection, the CNPD can authorize the transfer under specific conditions, as outlined in Act 67/98. CNPD can also authorize a transfer or a set of transfers of personal data to a receiving state that does not provide an adequate level of protection only if the controller provides adequate safeguards to protect the privacy and fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals. As members of the EU, business entities operating in Portugal are asked to comply with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).CNPD issued a set of orders for private firms to halt or refrain from data transfers to the United States, implying that U.S. technology companies subject to sending data to the United States may risk being non-compliant with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), justifying the enforcement with a narrow interpretation of the Schrems II decision and Privacy Shield invalidation.Generally, there are no excessively onerous visa, residence, work permit, or similar requirements inhibiting mobility of foreign investors and their employees.																																												5. Protection of Property Rights						    																																																Real Property										Portugal reliably enforces property rights and interests. The Portuguese Constitution ensures the right to private property and grants Parliament the power to establish rules on the renting of property, the determination of property in the public domain, and the rules of land management and urban planning. The Civil Code of 1967 provides the right to absolute and full ownership, which can be restricted by mortgage, liens, or other security interests. Additional laws have established or modified rules on time-sharing, condominiums, and land registration.Property registration can be undertaken online at  Predial Online . Foreign investors can directly own/purchase property freehold or leasehold, to build industrial and commercial premises or can purchase through a real estate company.If legally purchased property is unoccupied, Portuguese law allows ownership to revert to other owners, including squatters, through an adverse domain process set out in Chapter VI of the Portuguese Civil Code (CCP), Article 1287.																																				Intellectual Property Rights										Portugal is not included in the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) Special 301 Report or Notorious Markets List.Intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement and theft are uncommon in Portugal. It is fairly easy for investors to register copyrights, industrial property, patents, and designs with Portugal’s Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and the Inspectorate-General of Cultural Activities (IGAC). Intellectual property can be registered online for a small fee. For more details, consult:  https://inpi.justica.gov.pt/Servicos  and  https://www.igac.gov.pt/ .The Portuguese government became party to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 2003. Portuguese legislation for the protection of IPR has been consistent with WTO rules and EU directives since 2004. The Arbitration Centre for Industrial Property, Domain Names, and Company Names (ARBITRARE) was established in 2009 to facilitate voluntary arbitration of IPR disputes in English or Portuguese, and in 2012, the government created an IPR court with two judges. In 2019, Portugal brought into force a new industrial property package of legislation, enhancing the protection of a wide range of IPR, including patents, geographical indications, trademarks and designs. See more at  https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/members/profile/PT  .Portugal is a participant in the eMAGE and eMARKS projects, which provide multilingual access to databases of trademarks and industrial designs. Portugal’s Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE), in partnership with other national law enforcement agencies, provides statistics on seizures of counterfeit goods at:  https://www.asae.gov.pt/inspecao-fiscalizacao/resultados-operacionais.aspx  .For additional information about national laws and points of contact at local IP offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at  http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/. For additional information about national laws and points of contact at local IPR offices, please see WIPO’s country profiles at  http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/ .																																												6. Financial Sector						    																																																Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment										The Portuguese stock exchange is managed by Euronext Lisbon, part of the NYSE Euronext Group, which grants listed companies access to a global and diversified pool of investors. The Portuguese Stock Index (PSI) is the benchmark representing the largest and most liquid companies listed on the exchange. The Portuguese stock exchange offers a diverse product portfolio: shares, funds, exchange traded funds, bonds, and structured products, including warrants and futures.The Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM) supervises and regulates securities markets and is a member of the Committee of European Securities Regulators and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. Additional information on CMVM can be found here:  http://www.cmvm.pt/en/Pages/homepage.aspx  .Portugal respects IMF Article VIII by refraining from placing restrictions on payments and transfers for current international transactions. Credit is allocated on market terms, and foreign investors are eligible for local market financing. Private sector companies have access to a variety of credit instruments, including bonds.																																				Money and Banking System										Portugal has 146 credit institutions, of which 62 are banks. Portugal’s banking assets totaled €454 billion at the end of June 2022. Total loans stood at around €221 billion in mid-2022, 3.4% of which constitute non-performing loans, above the Eurozone average of around 1.8% percent.Banks’ return on equity was 8.8% in the first half of 2022 versus 4.6% the year before. In terms of capital buffers, the Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stabilized at 15% as of June 2022.Foreign banks are allowed to establish operations in Portugal. In terms of decision-making policy, a general ‘four-eyes policy,’ with two individuals approving actions, must be in place at all banks and branches operating in the country, irrespective of whether they qualify as international subsidiaries of foreign banks or local banks. Foreign branches operating in Portugal are required to have such decision-making powers that enable them to operate in the country, but this requirement generally does not prevent them from having internal control and rules governing risk exposure and decision-making processes, as customary in international financial groups.No restrictions exist on a foreigners’ ability to establish a bank account and both residents and non-residents may hold bank accounts in any currency. However, any transfers of €10,000 or more must be declared to Portuguese customs authorities. See more at:  https://www.bportugal.pt/ 																																				Foreign Exchange and Remittances																										Foreign Exchange						Portugal has no exchange controls and there are no restrictions on the import or export of capital. Funds associated with any form of investment can be freely converted into any world currency.Portugal is a member of the European Monetary Union (Eurozone) and uses the euro, a floating exchange rate currency controlled by the European Central Bank (ECB). The Bank of Portugal is the country’s central bank; the Governor of the Bank of Portugal participates on the board of the ECB.						Remittance Policies						There are no limitations on the repatriation of profits or dividends. There are no time limitations on remittances.																										Sovereign Wealth Funds										The Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security manages Portugal’s Social Security Financial Stabilization Fund (FEFSS), with total assets of around €22 billion. It is not a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and does not subscribe to the voluntary code of good practices (Santiago Principles), or participate in the IMF-hosted International Working Group on SWFs. Among other restrictions, Portuguese law requires that at least 25 percent of the fund’s assets be invested in Portuguese public debt, and limits FEFSS investment in equity instruments to that of EU or OECD members. FEFSS acts as a passive investor and does not take an active role in the management of portfolio companies.																																				7. State-Owned Enterprises										There are currently over 40 major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) operating in Portugal in the banking, health care, transportation, water, and agriculture sectors. Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD) has revenues greater than one percent of GDP. The bank has the largest market share in customer deposits, commercial loans, mortgages, and many other banking services in the Portuguese market.Parpublica is a government holding company for several smaller SOEs, providing audits and reports on these. More information can be found at:  http://www.parpublica.pt/ . The activities and accounts of Parpublica are fully disclosed in budget documents and audited annual reports. In addition, the Ministry of Finance publishes an annual report on SOEs through a specialized monitoring unit (UTAM) that presents annual performance data by company and sector: In mid- 2022,  Parpublica  managed assets totaling €10.6 billion, employs 4,600 workers and the net income of the holding in the first half of 2022 was €81 million.When SOEs are wholly owned, the government appoints the board, although when SOEs are majority-owned the board of executives and non-executives’ nomination depends on the negotiations between government and the remaining shareholders, and in some cases on negotiations with EU authorities as well.According to Law No. 133/2013, SOEs must compete under the same terms and conditions as private enterprises, subject to Portuguese and EU competition laws. Still, SOEs often receive preferential financing terms from private banks.In 2008 Portugal’s Council of Ministers approved resolution no. 49/2007, which defined the Principles of Good Governance for SOEs according to OECD guidelines. The resolution requires SOEs to have a governance model that ensures the segregation of executive management and supervisory roles, to have their accounts audited by independent entities, to observe the same standards as those for companies publicly listed on stock markets, and to establish an ethics code for employees, customers, suppliers, and the public. The resolution also requires the Ministry of Finance’s Directorate General of the Treasury and Finances to publish annual reports on SOEs’ compliance with the Principles of Good Governance. Credit and equity analysts generally tend to criticize SOEs’ over-indebtedness and inefficiency, rather than any poor governance or ties to government.																																				Privatization Program										Portugal is currently conducting the privatization of a controlling stake in electric mobility manufacturer and energy sector firm EFACEC, which has five interested candidates. The government also intends to privatize flagship airline TAP. Minister of Finance Fernando Medina said in March 2023 that the government would soon approve the privatization package of the airline. Privatization processes have traditionally complied with public bidding rules and are open to foreign investors.																																												8. Responsible Business Conduct						    																						There is strong awareness of responsible business conduct in Portugal but also a fair amount of nontransparent business practices. Scandals related to business dealings are routinely reported in the media. The Group of Reflection and Support for Business Citizenship (GRACE) was founded in 2000 by a group of companies, primarily multinational enterprises, to expand the role of the Portuguese business community in social development.The Ministry of Economy and AICEP encourage foreign and local enterprises to observe the due diligence approach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and both agencies jointly comprise the National Contact Point (NCP) to provide support for mediating disputes that may arise regarding the Guidelines. The Portuguese Business Ethics Association (APEE) is dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility and works in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy’s Directorate-General of Economic Activities. It promotes events like Social Responsibility Week and celebrates protocols and agreements with companies to ensure they follow responsible business conduct principles incorporated into the labor code.Portugal’s Competition Authority both encourages and enforces competition rules, including ethical business practices. The Competition Authority operates a leniency program for companies that self-identify lapses. There have not been any high profile, controversial instances of private sector impact on human rights. The Portuguese government enforces domestic laws effectively and fairly through the domestic courts system, and through the supra-national European Court of Human Rights. Within its constitution, Portugal states that constitutional precepts concerning fundamental rights must be interpreted and observed in harmony with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.The Portuguese legal and regulatory framework on corporate governance includes not only regulations and recommendations from the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), but also specific legal provisions from the Portuguese Companies Code and the Portuguese Securities Code. CMVM promotes sound corporate governance for listed companies by setting out a group of recommendations and regulations on the standards of corporate governance. CMVM regulations are binding for listed companies.Non-governmental organizations also promote awareness of environmental and good governance issues in business. These include Quercus Portugal, which publishes guidelines and organizes events to promote environmental responsibility in business practices, and Transparencia e Integridade Associacao Civica (TIAC), which produces reports on corruption on everything from soccer match-fixing to conflicts of interest in public and private enterprise. TIAC also allows whistle-blowers to anonymously submit reports of corruption through their website.Portugal represents a success story in fighting child labor from its supply chain, as the public and private sector came together decisively to eradicate child labor issues from the 1990’s. However, Portugal remains a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor trafficking. In 2019, a series of large COVID-19 outbreaks unveiled how groups of migrant workers at berry farms were subject to poor housing and sanitary conditions.He also advised Portugal to join the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as it is one of the few major global human rights treaties that Portugal is not a party to. Portugal has posted the “Voluntary national report on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Portugal”, in which the purpose is to detail the plans for safe integration into Portuguese society for migrants. This includes financing civil society projects to boost regular migration and prevent human trafficking, protocols signed for new housing policies, and developing apps that make it easier to apply for higher education. Parliament approved in early 2023 a proposal to improve the Labor code, regulating work on digital platforms and criminalizing undeclared work. As of 2018, less than one in five companies had human rights due diligence set in place.Portugal does not participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) or the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. However, the country’s two main umbrella unions, CGTP-Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses and UGT-União Geral dos Trabalhadores, regularly denounce and combat non-compliant business practices, particularly related to labor rights violations.Portugal potentially holds some of the largest lithium reserves in Europe and is preparing to advance with battery-grade ore mining. While some recognize the role of lithium for energy transition, several NGOs issued negative opinions of planned mining projects, warning about proposed open-pit methods that will provoke dust, noise, and detonations around the clock, damaging the lifestyle and health of local population. Environmentalists also warn about the risks to local species such as water moles, the Iberian wolf and river mussels. In January 2020, 14 civil society and environmental associations signed a national manifesto against Portugal’s mining plans.In September 2022, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment David Boyd  noted  that Portugal had not yet adopted measures for the National Action Plan (NAP) for Human Rights, although it had been in the works since 2021. Boyd stated that Portugal should accelerate its pace and raise ambition when addressing human rights. He recommended that proposed lithium mines must not proceed unless they maximize public benefits and respect human rights.Additional ResourcesDepartment of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; Trafficking in Persons Report; Guidance on Implementing the &#8220;UN Guiding Principles&#8221; for Transactions Linked to Foreign Government End-Users for Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities; U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and; Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory Department of the Treasury OFAC Recent Actions Department of Labor Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor Report ; List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor ; Sweat &amp; Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World  and; Comply Chain .																										Climate Issues										Portugal is progressing and accelerating its national climate strategy aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050. In its 2021-2030 National Energy and Climate plan, Portugal sets out goals for decarbonization, energy efficiency, energy security, internal energy markets and research, innovation, and competitiveness. Portugal’s installed solar capacity is now about 7% of the energy mix and is expected to reach 8 GW of solar capacity, or 27% of the energy mix by 2030.  The government is promoting significant investments in wind and solar energy development to meet its target of 47% energy from renewables by 2030. Portugal reduced its external energy dependence by 9.1 percentage points in 2021 versus 2005, increasing domestic energy generation and reducing the consumption of primary energy by 17%, ensuring greater supply security. The government of Portugal’s renewables deployment plan by 2030 of 3.4 GW in wind capacity, 6.5GW in photovoltaic and 10GW of offshore wind would amount to over €40 billion in investments.  Portugal’s path to a carbon neutral economy includes incentives for energy efficiency; promoting diversification of energy sources; increasing electrification; reinforcement and modernization of infrastructure; development of interconnections; market stability for investors; reconfiguration and digitalization of the market; incentives for research and innovation, promotion of low-carbon processes, products and services; and improved energy services and information for consumers.Portugal is using around €16.6 billion in European Union (EU) pandemic response funds expected to flow to state coffers between 2021 and 2026 to support its Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), of which the government will allocate 47% to efforts that help climate objectives. Public procurement and investment policies dictate that large infrastructure, industrial, mining, and other environmentally sensitive initiatives require the approval of impact assessment studies, supervised and assessed by the Portuguese Agency for the Environment (APA), before moving forward.																																												9. Corruption						    																						Despite being seen as generally aligned with the best international practices in terms of preventing and combating corruption, a June 2019 interim report by the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) concluded that only one of the fifteen recommendations contained in GRECO ́s Fourth Round Evaluation Report had been implemented satisfactorily or dealt in a satisfactory manner by Portugal at end-2019 in terms of compliance with GRECO anti-corruption recommendations addressed to lawmakers, judges and prosecutors.U.S. firms do not identify corruption as an obstacle to foreign direct investment. Portugal has made legislative strides toward further criminalizing corruption. The government’s Council for the Prevention of Corruption, formed in 2008, is an independent administrative body that works closely with the Court of Auditors to prevent corruption in public and private organizations that use public funds. Transparencia e Integridade Associacao Civica, the local affiliate of Transparency International, also actively publishes reports on corruption and supports would-be whistleblowers in Portugal.In 2010, the country adopted a law criminalizing violation of urban planning rules and increasing transparency in political party funding. In 2015, Parliament unanimously approved a revision to existing anti-corruption laws that extended the statute of limitations for the crime of trading in influence to 15 years, and criminalized embezzlement by employees of state-owned enterprises with a prison term of up to eight years. The laws extend to family members of officials and to political parties.Portugal ranks 32nd out of 180 countries in Transparency International (TI)’s 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).Portugal approved a national anti-corruption strategy in December 2021. This legislative package includes a working group that prepares a national report, revises the whistle-blower protection framework, fraud-proofs legislation, improves public procurement processes, reinforces the transparency of political party financing, and ensures that companies have corruption prevention plans in place.Portugal has laws and regulations to counter conflict-of-interest in awarding contracts or government procurement. Parliamentarians are required to declare their income, assets, and interests to the Authority for Transparency attached the Constitutional Court.The Portuguese government encourages (and in some cases requires) private companies to establish internal codes of conduct that, among other things, prohibit bribery of public officials. Most private companies use internal controls, ethics, and compliance programs to detect and prevent bribery of government officials. As described above, the Competition Authority operates a leniency program for companies that self-identify infringements of competition rules, including ethical lapses.Portugal has ratified and complies with both the UN Convention against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.																										Resources to Report Corruption										Council for the Prevention of CorruptionAvenida da Republica,651050-189, Lisbon, Portugal+351 21 794 5138Email: cp-corrupcao@tcontas.ptContact at “watchdog” organization:Transparency International –Transparencia e Integridade Associacao CivicaRua dos Fanqueiros,65-3o A1100-226,Lisbon, Portugal+351 21 8873412Email: secretariado@transparencia.pt																																												10. Political and Security Environment						    																						Since the 1974 Carnation Revolution, Portugal has had a long history of peaceful social protest. Portugal experienced its largest political rally since its revolution in response to proposed budgetary measures in 2012. Public workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers, aviation professionals, and public transportation workers organized peaceful demonstrations periodically in protest of insufficient economic support, low salary levels, and other measures.																																		11. Labor Policies and Practices						    																						Numerous labor reform packages aimed at improving productivity were implemented after the 2011 bailout, but overall labor productivity remains a challenge. The annualized monthly minimum wage stood at €887 in 2023.After the difficulties of the eurozone debt crisis, when many Portuguese migrated out of the country along with some resident migrants, net-migration became positive again in 2017 and has strengthened since. The largest communities of workers come from Brazil, Cape Verde, Romania, Ukraine, UK, China, France, Italy, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Nepal and India. In the Southern Algarve region, the tourism sector employs most of the migrant workers. Alentejo and the coastal regions of central Portugal, with their intensive agriculture sectors, host substantial South Asian workers.Employers are allowed to conduct collective dismissals linked to adverse market or economic conditions, or due to technological advancement, but must provide advance notice and severance pay. Depending on the seniority of each employee, an employer must provide between 15 to 75 days of advance notice and pay severance ranging from 12 days’ to one month’s salary per year worked. Employees may challenge termination decisions before a Labor Court. Labor laws are uniformly applicable and enforced, including in Portugal’s foreign trade zone/free port in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.Collective bargaining is common in Portugal’s banking, insurance, and public administration sectors. More information is available at the Directorate General for Labor Relations site.Portugal has labor dispute resolution mechanisms in place through Labor Courts and Arbitration Centers. Labor strikes are not violent and of short duration. Labor laws are not waived in order to attract or retain investment.Portugal is a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and has ratified all eight Fundamental Conventions as well as all four Governance (Priority) Conventions.The Labor Code caps the work schedule at eight hours per day, and 40 hours per week. The public sector employee workweek, with certain exclusions, was capped at 35 hours in July 2016. Employees are entitled to at least 22 days of annual leave per year. Employers must pay employees a Christmas and vacation bonus, both equivalent to one month’s salary.Gender Equality:Gender pay gap inequality in Portugal worsened from 11.4% in 2020 to 11.9% in 2021, which is better than the average EU difference (12,7%), according to Eurostat  data . Portugal has shown progress in developing gender equality and gender mainstreaming policies, according to European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). The 2030 National Strategy on Gender Equality, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, established a plan to: promote gender equality; tackle violence against women and domestic violence; and combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual characteristics.In 2021, according to INE data, the employment rate for those aged 15 or over is 59.7% for men and 51.5% for women, with a difference of 8.2 percentage points. Under the Europe 2020 Strategy, a target of 75% was set for the employment rate of the working-age population (20 to 64 years old). However, according to Eurostat data, in Portugal this target was reached for men in 2017 but, as of 2021, not for women (73.1%).Portugal’s diplomatic service was opened to women in 1974 (Decree-Law n.o 308/74, of July 6), but as of 2021, women still represented only 27.5% of the total number of diplomats.There has been a positive evolution in the participation of women in government, which increased from 1.9% in 1976 to 37.5% in 2022.The National Strategy for Equality and Non-Discrimination “Portugal + Igual” (2018-2030) is the main public policy instrument in the area of gender equality.Portugal’s Fraud Management and Economics Observatory estimates that the informal economy is worth about 27% of GDP, according to its last available analysis in 2015.																																		12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs						    																						Given Portugal’s relatively high income level, DFC generally is not active. However, the European Energy Security and Diversification Act of 2019 authorizes DFC to support certain energy-related investments in eligible European countries such as Portugal.Portugal is a country with low political risk; the World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency provides political risk insurance for investors seeking coverage.																																		13. Foreign Direct Investment Statistics						    																						Table 2: Key Macroeconomic Data, U.S. FDI in Host Country/EconomyHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or International Source of Data:  BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherEconomic DataYearAmountYearAmountHost Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ($M USD)2021€ 214,741,0092021$253,663,144www.worldbank.org/en/countryForeign Direct InvestmentHost Country Statistical source*USG or international statistical sourceUSG or international Source of data:  BEA; IMF; Eurostat; UNCTAD, OtherU.S. FDI in partner country ($M USD, stock positions)2021€2,281 million2021 $2,154 million&nbsp;BEA data available at https://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheet/Host country’s FDI in the United States ($M USD, stock positions)2021€1,005 million2021$879 millionBEA data available at https://apps.bea.gov/international/factsheet/Total inbound stock of FDI as % host GDP202116.2%UNCTAD data available athttps://unctad.org/topic/investment/world-investment-report   * Source for Host Country Data:Table 3: Sources and Destination of FDIDirect Investment from/in Counterpart Economy DataFrom Top Five Sources/To Top Five Destinations (US Dollars, Millions)Inward Direct InvestmentOutward Direct InvestmentTotal Inward180,954100%Total Outward61,893100%Spain38,44721%Spain17,48228%The Netherlands36,73620%The Netherlands16,26926%Luxembourg31,29617%Brazil2,7795%France14,5968%Angola2,6374%United Kingdom11,0786%Mozambique1,8873%&#8220;0&#8221; reflects amounts rounded to +/- USD 500,000.																																		14. 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Openness To, and Restrictions Upon, Foreign Investment																																							Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment																																																						Limits on Foreign Control and Right to Private Ownership and Establishment																																																						Other Investment Policy Reviews																																																						Business Facilitation																																																						Outward Investment																																																			2. Bilateral Investment and Taxation Treaties																3. 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Industrial Policies																																							Investment Incentives																																																						Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports/Trade Facilitation																																																						Performance and Data Localization Requirements																																																			5. Protection of Property Rights																																							Real Property																																																						Intellectual Property Rights																																																			6. Financial Sector																																							Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment																																																						Money and Banking System																																																						Foreign Exchange and Remittances																																																				Foreign Exchange																																												Remittance Policies																																																																																				Sovereign Wealth Funds																																																						7. State-Owned Enterprises																																																						Privatization Program																																																			8. Responsible Business Conduct																																							Climate Issues																																																			9. Corruption																																							Resources to Report Corruption																																																			10. Political and Security Environment																11. Labor Policies and Practices																12. U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs																13. Foreign Direct Investment Statistics																14. Contact for More Information																						Tags																					Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs																								Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs																								Portugal
- Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation Lapenn’s Travel to Portugal and Belgium Office of the SpokespersonAmbassador Jessye Lapenn, Senior Coordinator for Atlantic Cooperation, will travel July 16-18 to Lisbon, Portugal, to deliver a keynote address at the Atlantic Partnership Seminar hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies and the Atlantic Center.  On July 18-20, she will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for consultations on Atlantic Cooperation with government officials, non-governmental organizations, and European Union officials.Through the initiative for Atlantic Cooperation, led by Ambassador Lapenn, the United States is working to collaborate with countries north, south, east, and west of the Atlantic Ocean to address our shared economic, security, and environmental concerns.
- The Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of StateOn behalf of the United States Government, I congratulate the people of Portugal on their celebration of this year’s Day of Portugal, Camões, and the Portuguese Communities on June 10th.The United States cherishes our enduring relationship with Portugal and our shared national values. We celebrate our critical collaboration in defense, economic prosperity, cultural exchange, and the challenges of climate change. We appreciate Portugal’s important role in fostering security and stability in the Atlantic region and beyond as a NATO Ally and a partner to address global challenges.The United States will always remember that Portugal was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of our Republic.  Our relationship has been strong ever since.The United States extends its warmest wishes to the people of Portugal on this important day. We celebrate in the confidence that our countries will remain friends and allies for many years to come.
- Portugal HomeReportsOffice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons2023 Trafficking in Persons Report&#8230;Portugal				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2023 Trafficking in Persons Report: Portugal																																					Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons																																																																																																				 In this section										/																							PORTUGAL (Tier 2)																																													PORTUGAL (Tier 2)																															PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:																																																																																		PROSECUTION																																																																																		PROTECTION																																																																																		PREVENTION																																																																																		TRAFFICKING PROFILE:																																																																																																								PORTUGAL (Tier 2)				The Government of Portugal does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Portugal remained on Tier 2. These efforts included identifying and assisting more presumed trafficking victims, increasing funding for victim assistance, and prosecuting slightly more suspected traffickers. Law enforcement continued participating in international investigations and operations, which resulted in the identification of several potential victims. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. While the government did not provide full sentencing data, of the available data, judges issued lenient sentences resulting in at least 71 percent of convicted traffickers receiving fully suspended sentences or fines, which undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weakened deterrence, created potential security and safety concerns for victims, and was not equal to the seriousness of the crime. For the third consecutive year, the government did not identify any victims among the asylum-seeking population because of ongoing gaps in victim identification and the number of confirmed victims continued to decrease significantly. The government also did not provide compensation to any trafficking victims in 2021 and restitution remained rare.																																					PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:						    																																															Improve efforts to proactively identify victims within the country, including Portuguese nationals, children, sex trafficking victims, and victims within the asylum-seeking population, by systematically training government officials, particularly immigration police, labor inspectors, and law enforcement, on proactive victim identification among vulnerable groups.Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, which should involve significant prison terms.Increase trafficking survivor access to damages and compensation and increase prosecutors’ efforts to systematically request restitution for survivors during criminal trials, including by training prosecutors and magistrates on victims’ right to restitution.Allow formal victim identification and referral from entities other than the police, including civil society, social workers, and health care professionals.Ensure law enforcement cooperation is not a requirement for formal victim identification.Increase efforts to implement strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies that are consistently enforced by investigating fraudulent labor recruitment and ensuring cases with indicators of labor trafficking are prosecuted under the trafficking statute.Allocate additional resources and capacity for labor inspectors to detect labor trafficking.Increase efforts to enforce the law prohibiting recruitment fees charged to workers and ensure any recruitment fees are paid by employers.Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.Increase survivor input when forming policies, programs, and trainings.Increase efforts to pursue financial crime investigations in tandem with human trafficking cases.																																												PROSECUTION						    																																															The government maintained law enforcement efforts. Article 160 of the penal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of three to 10 years’ imprisonment, which were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those for other serious crimes, such as rape. Some child sex trafficking crimes could also be prosecuted under Article 175, which addressed “pimping” crimes; it prescribed penalties of one to 10 years’ imprisonment. Article 159 prohibited slavery and prescribed penalties of five to 15 years’ imprisonment.In 2021, the most recent year available for finalized and published government statistics, the Foreigner and Borders Service (SEF) and Criminal Investigation Police (PJ) initiated 93 human trafficking investigations with an additional 129 ongoing cases from prior years. This was similar to 94 in 2020, but less than 121 in 2019. Prosecutors initiated legal proceedings against 36 suspects in 2021, similar to 34 in 2020, but less than 45 in 2019. Prosecutors also initiated legal proceedings against six legal entities in 2021, an increase compared with less than three in 2020. In 2021, courts convicted 28 traffickers, similar to 24 in 2020, and 26 in 2019. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, courts were closed during parts of 2021. The government did not provide comprehensive data regarding sentences imposed by courts on traffickers that allowed for an accurate assessment of adequate penalties for convicted traffickers; however, based on the data available, it reported that in 2021 judges sentenced at least six traffickers (21.4 percent) to one year or longer imprisonment, while at least 20 traffickers received a fully suspended sentence or a fine (71.4 percent). Lenient sentencing undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weakened deterrence, created potential security and safety concerns for victims, and was not equal to the seriousness of the crime. The government did not disaggregate between sex and labor trafficking for prosecutions and convictions. The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes. Prosecutors noted difficulty in obtaining convictions for labor trafficking cases with an absence of force or violence; courts would often drop the trafficking charge for a lesser charge, which would consequently affect the ability for victims to obtain restitution. In its 2022 report, GRETA expressed concern that the number of prosecutions and convictions was low compared with the number of victims identified and stressed the failure to convict traffickers and the absence of effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties undermined efforts to combat trafficking and guarantee victims’ access to justice. GRETA urged the government to increase its efforts to ensure it classified trafficking cases as such and to pursue financial crime investigations in tandem with human trafficking cases, including the confiscation of traffickers’ assets as compensation for victims.The government provided guidelines for implementation of the Law on Criminal Policy, including specific guidance for investigating and coordinating trafficking cases, victim interviewing, avoiding victim re-traumatization, and working with vulnerable groups like children and undocumented migrants. SEF had a specialized trafficking unit with nationwide investigation authority, and there were several teams within the PJ who had received special training to investigate trafficking; however, authorities noted that these units lacked sufficient resources. SEF cooperated in three joint action days in 2021, organized by Interpol, with dozens of participating countries, resulting in the identification of at least 1,467 potential victims and arrest of at least 363 suspects across participating countries; however, Portuguese officials did not report identifying any trafficking suspects or victims in Portugal. In 2021, SEF also participated with EUROPOL and dozens of countries in three international operations, resulting in identification of 960 potential victims across all participating countries; in Portugal, law enforcement identified one potential case of trafficking involving 55 potential victims as a result of these operations. SEF screened for potential trafficking victims at the Lisbon airport in 2021, and reported arresting suspected traffickers through this proactive approach. In 2022, the Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings (OTSH), in collaboration with other governmental entities and government-funded civil society organizations, organized and delivered 20 training activities to various law enforcement officials, multidisciplinary teams, health care workers, and social workers; some training topics included child trafficking, the NRM, and victim identification.																																												PROTECTION						    																																															The government increased protection efforts. In 2021, authorities and government-funded NGOs initially classified 318 individuals as possible trafficking victims (308 in Portugal, seven abroad, and three unknown); however, authorities only “confirmed” six as trafficking victims after the conclusion of a criminal investigation. This compared with an initial 228 possible victims in 2020. Since 2018, there has been a progressive decrease in the number of “confirmed” trafficking victims – 13 confirmed victims in 2020 and 44 in both 2019 and 2018. Of the six confirmed victims in 2021, four were women, two were men, all were adults, and at least five were labor trafficking victims. Front-line responders, including police and NGOs, could identify and refer presumed victims to services, but only law enforcement officials or the national rapporteur could formally “confirm” an individual as a trafficking victim. Law enforcement officials were the primary body responsible for formal victim confirmation, while identification by the national rapporteur was typically only used in exceptional circumstances. The government reported police, judges, and prosecutors determined whether to confirm a victim by analyzing evidence and the presence of trafficking indicators. However, in its 2022 report, GRETA noted, in practice, formal identification of victims depended on the initiation of an investigation and the outcome of criminal proceedings. GRETA reported there was no timeline for authorities to confirm official victim status; the process depended on the duration of the related prosecution. While presumed victims could receive assistance from government-funded NGOs, such as shelter, the process by which they could obtain some of the same benefits as confirmed victims was not as clear nor timely; for example, under Article 109 of the Law 23/2007, presumed victims could still obtain, though were not entitled to, a residence permit, but the process was complex, and there were additional stipulations. Furthermore, if during legal proceedings, law enforcement re-classified the crime as a non-trafficking crime, victims would remain “presumed” rather than “confirmed”. In its 2013, 2017, and 2022 reports, GRETA urged the government to ensure formal identification of trafficking victims did not depend, in practice, on their cooperation with law enforcement and on the presence of sufficient grounds to initiate a criminal case. In 2021, of the original 318 possible victims, NGOs identified 50 “presumed” victims, while an additional 144 victims with ongoing investigations continued as “presumed” victims, and the remaining victims were determined not to be trafficking victims – this totaled 194 “presumed” victims. Of the 194 presumed victims, at least 161 were presumed victims of labor trafficking (mostly in agriculture), including at least five for forced begging and three for forced criminality; at least eight were presumed sex trafficking victims; at least 22 were Portuguese; and at least 23 were children. Six confirmed victims and 194 presumed victims in 2021 was an overall increase compared with 13 confirmed victims and 92 presumed victims in 2020, and 44 confirmed victims and 130 presumed victims in 2019. However, experts raised concerns regarding gaps in the government’s efforts to proactively identify trafficking victims as the government did not report identifying any victims among the asylum-seeking population – presumed or confirmed – and there were no Portuguese or children among the confirmed victims. Presumed victims were most often from Morocco, Portugal, Romania, and Moldova. In its 2022 report, GRETA noted there were gaps in victim identification in the asylum system due to a lack of knowledge about trafficking indicators among organizations working with undocumented migrants and running reception centers for asylum-seekers and there were no SOPs in place once victims were identified. GRETA recommended the government establish effective identification and referral procedures for applicants for international protection, as well as systematic training for officials interacting with this vulnerable population.The government continued to utilize its NRM, which was widely used and distributed to all relevant front-line officials, including NGOs, social service workers, and health care workers. The government also continued to utilize its NRM specifically for child trafficking victims. Upon request, the OTSH continued to distribute checklists to front-line officials on identifying victims of sex and labor trafficking, including victims of forced begging and criminality. The government continued to provide a publicly available victim identification handbook to labor inspectors and other front-line officials. Upon encountering a potential victim, law enforcement personnel conducted an initial standardized risk assessment and systematically referred individuals deemed vulnerable or at risk to one of five regional government-funded multidisciplinary NGO teams to receive specialized shelter and assistance. Collaboration between the multidisciplinary NGO teams and the police remained effective. The multidisciplinary NGO teams included psychologists and social workers.In 2022, the government increased its funding amounts for trafficking shelters, victim repatriation, and the multidisciplinary regional teams to €2 million ($2.14 million); this compared with €1.5 million ($1.60 million) in 2021, 2020, and 2019. Adult victims and their minor children had the right to shelter, health care, psycho-social and legal assistance, translation and interpretation services, a reintegration program, and education and employment training. The government provided 36 presumed victims with assistance and shelter in 2021; of those assisted, eight were Portuguese, 23 were men, 13 were women, 30 were labor trafficking victims, and at least four were sex trafficking victims. This was an increase compared with 23 victims assisted in 2020, but still less than 57 in 2019. Additionally, the government provided long-term care to 18 victims from prior years who remained in government shelters – some from 2014. Thirty victims received psychological assistance and four received medical assistance. Twenty-five victims received legal services, 11 received training and education, and 17 received support with labor market integration in 2021. The government also enrolled four labor trafficking victims in its reintegration program in 2021, which included accommodation in an independent apartment; three victims from prior years also remained in this program. The government had five government-funded NGO-operated shelters exclusively for trafficking victims – two for adult female victims and their minor children, two for adult male victims, and one for children. Adult victims could leave the shelters at will unless authorities determined the victims’ safety was at risk. Child victims received care under Portugal’s child protection system or through its shelter for child trafficking victims, which could accommodate up to seven children.The government offered victims a recovery and reflection period of 30 to 60 days, during which they could decide whether to cooperate with law enforcement. During the recovery and reflection period, victims were entitled to emergency medical treatment, psychological assistance, protection, interpretation, and legal assistance. The government provided funding to assist victims with voluntary repatriation, which it provided to several victims in 2021. The law also entitled victims to a one-year residence permit if they cooperated with law enforcement or had a personal situation regarding their security, health, family situation, or vulnerability; authorities could renew this permit indefinitely. In 2021, the government issued 18 temporary residence permits to victims (15 to adults and three to children), predominantly for labor trafficking; similar to 20 residence permits issued in 2020. Waiting periods for obtaining a residence permit could be a year or longer, which could result in victims missing important judicial deadlines while waiting. The government reported presumed and confirmed victims had access to services regardless of cooperation with law enforcement; however, civil society noted that outside the recovery and reflection period, access to legal aid, health services, and work permits without a residence permit – which could sometimes take a year to obtain – was particularly challenging for undocumented presumed trafficking victims. In its 2022 report, GRETA urged the government to ensure trafficking victims could benefit, in practice and in a timely manner, from the right to obtain a residence permit.Courts permitted some crime victims to testify by deposition or video conference, which was required for children. The law entitled victims to psychological assistance during interviews and accompaniment by a trusted person, as well as access to interpreters. The law allowed for the victim’s identity to remain concealed during trial. The government had a comprehensive victim-witness assistance protection program. The government reported informing victims of their rights to legal aid, to claim damages or request compensation, and to interpretation. In its 2022 report, GRETA urged the government to take further steps to ensure all victims, including third-country nationals, could effectively access legal assistance and legal aid at an early stage (as soon as there were reasonable grounds for victim identification) by reviewing the eligibility criteria, and ensuring decisions were made in a timely manner. The government continued to lack comprehensive data on restitution, damages, and compensation awarded to victims, which GRETA recommended the government rectify. Prosecutors were not required to systematically request restitution during trials; the government reported two victims received restitution in 2021. Portuguese law allowed victims to file civil suits against traffickers, but the government reported no victims filed suits during the reporting period. Victims could also seek compensation from the government if the convicted trafficker was unable to pay the awarded damages; however, the government did not provide any such compensation to trafficking victims and GRETA noted this rarely occurred. In its 2022 report, GRETA recommended the government increase its efforts to guarantee effective access to compensation for trafficking victims and increase training on victims’ access to compensation for legal practitioners, prosecutors, and the judiciary. GRETA also reported the lack of a specific provision in Portuguese law protecting victims from being inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked could leave them vulnerable to prosecution. NGOs continued to report instances where the government prosecuted trafficking victims, which resulted in their unwillingness to come forward and cooperate with authorities.																																												PREVENTION						    																																															The government maintained prevention efforts. The government’s multi-stakeholder anti-trafficking network, the Support and Protection Network for Victims of Trafficking (RAPVT), met an unknown number of times in 2022 and was led by the national rapporteur on trafficking; RAPVT included representatives from various central and local government agencies and three NGOs. The government’s NAP expired in 2021; authorities reported having a draft NAP (2023-2026) that was in the public consultation process, but did not adopt it by the end of the reporting period. The government continued publishing several annual reports on human trafficking. In 2022, the government launched a national awareness campaign focused on trafficking vulnerabilities of refugees fleeing Ukraine, which included leaflets for distribution, and a government-funded NGO continued a previously launched regional campaign. The government reported participating in trainings provided to foreign governments, including Equatorial Guinea and Cabo Verde.The government required temporary employment agencies to obtain a license to operate and prohibited them from charging a recruitment or placement fee to workers. Though illegal under Portuguese law, SEF asserted the imposition of recruitment fees still frequently occurred and could increase worker’s vulnerability to debt bondage. Portuguese law criminalized passport withholding and contract switching. Law enforcement noted difficulty in pursuing cases against subcontractors or intermediary companies, particularly in the agricultural sector; subcontractors would often close their business and re-open under another name. The government reported foreign workers were able to change employers without prior government permission, which may have decreased their vulnerability to trafficking. Fraudulent labor recruitment remained a concern, but the government took effective law enforcement steps against several businesses in 2021, including the prosecution and conviction of several traffickers. GRETA noted a need to strengthen monitoring and regulation of temporary employment and recruitment agencies, especially those employing and recruiting domestic workers. Labor inspectors did not have the authority to identify victims, a dedicated budget, or staff to detect labor trafficking cases, but could refer suspected labor trafficking cases to the police. The government reported conducting many labor inspections, but it did not report whether labor inspectors referred any possible trafficking cases to police nor whether any labor trafficking victims were identified as a result. In its 2021 annual report, the government noted labor trafficking and exploitation in the agricultural sector continued to remain a challenge. In its 2022 report, GRETA urged the government to take further measures to prevent and combat labor trafficking by addressing legislative gaps relating to subcontracting companies, strengthening labor inspections, and continuing to raise awareness. Labor inspectors frequently conducted joint inspections with SEF when foreign workers were present, which may have intimidated undocumented victims and created a barrier to the identification of victims.Each of the five multidisciplinary government-funded NGO teams operated a hotline, available 24 hours a day and in several languages, and the government continued to operate a general hotline for children in danger; however, the government reported receiving 125 trafficking-related calls in 2022, but did not report whether any trafficking victims were identified as a result. Additionally, a government-funded NGO operated a shelter and protection center phone line; however, it did not report further details on victims identified as a result. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.																																												TRAFFICKING PROFILE:						    																																															As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Portugal, and traffickers exploit victims from Portugal abroad. The majority of trafficking victims are from India, Moldova, Morocco, Pakistan, Portugal, and Romania, but victims also originate from West Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America, specifically Brazil. Labor traffickers exploit foreign victims in agriculture, construction, and domestic service; seasonal migrant workers are especially vulnerable. Traffickers transport victims to farms located in the interior of the Alentejo region or western Portugal, where they are comparatively isolated. Cubans working in Portugal may have been forced to work by the Cuban government before the Government of Portugal ended the use of Cuban medical professionals in December 2019. According to an NGO, a Portuguese public institution – indirectly operated by the government – and an international organization funded Cuban workers in Guinea-Bissau who may have been forced to work by the Cuban government; the government confirmed the program ended in 2021. Traffickers often use fraudulent recruitment methods to exploit Portuguese victims in restaurants, agriculture, and domestic service, primarily in Portugal and Spain. Refugees, predominantly women and children, fleeing Russia’s war against Ukraine, are vulnerable to trafficking. Sex traffickers exploit foreign women and children, mostly from Africa and Eastern Europe, and Portuguese women and children within the country. Traffickers exploit children from Eastern Europe, including Romani children for forced begging and forced criminal activity in Portugal. Authorities report traffickers facilitate the transfer of asylum-seeking women and children, many from West Africa, to Portugal; traffickers obtain false documents before moving them to other European countries for sex trafficking. Sub-Saharan trafficking networks sometimes use Portugal as a route into the Schengen area to exploit children for both sex trafficking and forced labor. Labor traffickers sometimes exploit soccer players through fraudulent recruitment; these victims are often children and young adults, primarily from South America and Africa.																																				    							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- Portugal HomeReportsOffice of International Religious Freedom2022 Report on International Religious Freedom&#8230;Portugal				hide	document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(event) {	if(window.jQuery) {		jQuery( document ).ready(function() {			if (jQuery(".bc_middle").hasClass("collapse")) {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});				jQuery(".bc_hide").click(function(){					jQuery(".bc_hide").toggleClass("visible");					jQuery(".bc_middle").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_ellipse").toggle();					jQuery(".bc_content").toggleClass("noflex");					jQuery(".block_breadcrumbs_content").toggleClass("noflex");				});			} else {				jQuery(".bc_ellipse").hide();			}		});	}});																							2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Portugal																																					Office of International Religious Freedom																																																																																							Download Report																																																																																	 In this section										/																							Executive Summary																																													Executive Summary																															Section I. Religious Demography																																																																																		Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom																																																									Legal Framework																																																																											Government Practices																																																																																	Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom																																																																																		Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement																																																																																																								Executive Summary				The constitution provides for freedom of religion and worship and prohibits discrimination based on religion.  The Religious Freedom Commission (CLR) is an independent, consultative body to the Assembly of the Republic (parliament) and the government that reviews all matters relating to application of the law on religious freedom.  The High Commission for Migration (ACM), an independent government body, advocates religious tolerance, including the “promotion of dialogue, innovation, and intercultural and interreligious education” and “combating all forms of discrimination” based on color, nationality, ethnic origin, or religion.  All religious groups with an organized presence in the country may apply for registration with the Ministry of Justice.In 2021, the government granted citizenship to 18,121 descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled during the Inquisition.  In March, parliament enacted stricter rules and imposed additional documentation requirements for Sephardic Jewish citizenship applications, which became effective September 1.  Authorities began an investigation into possible illegalities in the attribution of nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews.  In March, authorities arrested the rabbi of the Porto Israeli Community, Daniel Litvak, on suspicion of using privileged knowledge and connections to secure citizenship for such descendants.  The Lisbon Court of Appeals in a September 27 ruling revoked what it called “coercive measures” imposed as an interim measure on Litvak by the trial court hearing the case.  His trial remained pending at year’s end.  In December, parliament approved a bill to decriminalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, over the objections of a wide range of religious groups.  President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa requested the Constitutional Court review the bill before he signed or vetoed it.  The court&#8217;s decision was pending at year&#8217;s end.  In various events and through exhibits, government officials and civic organizations honored the life of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who during World War II helped save over 30,000 Jews from Nazi persecution.The Faith of Man, an inter-religious program on state-owned RTP television, celebrated its 25th anniversary; officials described the programming as a vehicle for “fostering interreligious dialogue.”  In October, the Lisbon municipality’s Galveias Palace housed The Portuguese Jewish Diaspora (15th-20th centuries) art exhibit as a tribute to historic Jewish ties with the country.U.S. embassy officials maintained regular contact with government officials from the ACM and representatives of the CLR to discuss the importance of mutual respect and understanding among religious communities and the integration of immigrants, many of whom belonged to minority religious groups.  In April, the Ambassador joined Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faith leaders to celebrate the breaking of the Ramadan fast, and she used the occasion to discuss the importance of religious freedom and tolerance, which she described as key values of both countries.  In September, during embassy-sponsored presentations by a Uyghur-American religious freedom activist, government officials and civil society leaders discussed how to continue ensuring religious freedom and tolerance remained a priority in Portugal.  The Ambassador, attending menorah lighting events during Hanukkah in Cascais and Lisbon, made remarks highlighting the value and importance of respect for religious diversity in the country.																														Section I.													 Religious Demography												    																																															The U.S. government estimates the total population at 10.2 million (midyear 2022).  According to the 2021 census, 80 percent of the population older than age 15 is Roman Catholic.  Evangelical Protestants make up 2 percent of the population.  Other denominations, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Lutheran Church of Portugal, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church of God of the Seventh Day, New Apostolic Church, Baptist Church, and Jehovah’s Witnesses comprise approximately 3 percent.  According to the census, nonevangelical Protestants number more than 75,000.  Other religious groups together comprising less than 1 percent are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Taoists, Zoroastrians, Baha’is, and Jews.  In the census, 14 percent responded they did not belong to any religious group, and 3 percent did not answer the question.Most members of the Eastern Orthodox Church are immigrants from Eastern Europe, primarily from Ukraine.  The Muslim community estimates there are approximately 60,000 members, of whom 50,000 are Sunni and 10,000 Shia, including Ismaili Shia.  Jewish community leaders estimate there are approximately 3,000 Jewish residents, with half residing in the greater Lisbon area.																																					Section II.													 Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom												    																																																Legal Framework										The constitution provides for freedom of religion, including freedom of worship, which may not be violated even if the government declares a state of emergency.  It states no one shall be privileged, prejudiced, persecuted, or deprived of rights or exempted from civic obligations or duties because of religious beliefs or practices.  The constitution states authorities may not question individuals about their religious convictions or observance except to gather statistical information that does not identify individuals, and individuals may not be prejudiced by refusal to reply.Churches and religious communities are independent from the state, determine their own organization, and perform their own activities and worship.  The constitution affords each religious community the freedom to teach its religion and use its own media to disseminate public information about its activities.  The constitution bars political parties from using names directly associated with, or symbols that may be confused with, those of religious groups.  The constitution and law recognize the right to conscientious objection to military service, including on religious grounds, and require conscientious objectors to perform equivalent alternative civilian service.The CLR is an independent, consultative body to parliament and the government, established by law.  Its members include two representatives of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (Roman Catholic); representatives of three religious groups (the Evangelical Alliance, the Islamic Community of Lisbon, and the Jewish Community of Lisbon) appointed by the Ministry of Justice; and five laypersons, three of whom are affiliated with the Ismaili Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist communities.  The Council of Ministers appoints its president.  The CLR reviews and takes a position on all matters relating to the application of the law on religious freedom, including proposed amendments.  The CLR alerts the relevant authorities, including the president, parliament, and other government officials, to cases involving religious freedom and discrimination, such as restrictions or prohibitions on the right to assemble or hold religious services, destruction or desecration of religious property, assaults on lay members and clergy incitement of religious discord, hate speech, and violations of the rights of foreign missionaries.The 2021-25 National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination revised the criminal code and expanded the grounds for protection.  A 2020 law lists and defines the plan’s objectives, priorities, and general criminal policy and priority guidelines for 2020-22.  The plan further prioritizes preventing crimes motivated by racial, religious, or sexual discrimination.  Additionally, it cites the internet as the predominant vehicle of communication associated with hate crimes and prioritizes cybercrime prevention and investigation.The CLR may file formal complaints at the national level with the ombudsman, an official position created by the constitution and supplemental legislation to defend the rights and freedoms of individual citizens, and at the international level with the European Court of Human Rights.  The ombudsman has no enforcement authority but must address complaints and provide an alternative remedy for dispute resolution.Religious groups may organize in a variety of forms that have national, regional, or local character.  A denomination may organize as one national church or religious community or as several regional or local churches or religious communities.  An international church or religious community may establish a representative organization of its adherents separate from the branch of the church or religious community existing in the country.  A registered church or religious community may create subsidiary or affiliated organizations, such as associations, foundations, or federations.All religious groups with an organized presence in the country may apply for registration with the registrar of religious corporate bodies in the Ministry of Justice.  According to the CLR, there are 92 registered religious groups in the country, compared to 50 in 2011.  The requirements for registration include providing the organization’s official name, which must be distinguishable from all other religious corporate bodies in the country; the organizing documents of the church or religious community associated with the group applying for registration; the address of the organization’s registered main office in the country; a statement of the group’s religious purposes; documentation of the organization’s assets; information on the organization’s formation, composition, rules, and activities; provisions for dissolution of the organization; and the appointment method and powers of the organization’s representatives.  Subsidiary or affiliated organizations included in the parent group’s application are also registered; if not included, they must register separately.  The ministry may reject a registration application if it fails to meet legal requirements, includes false documentation, or violates the constitutional right of religious freedom.  If the ministry rejects an application, religious groups may appeal to the CLR within 30 days of receiving the ministry’s decision.Religious groups may register as religious corporations and receive tax-exempt status.  Registered groups have the right to minister in prisons, hospitals, and military facilities; provide religious teaching in public schools; access broadcasting time on public television and radio; and receive national recognition of religious holidays.  The government certifies religious ministers, who receive all the benefits of the social security system.  Chaplaincies for military services, prisons, and hospitals are state-funded positions open to all registered religious groups, although chaplains are predominantly Catholic.  A taxpayer may allocate 5 percent of income tax payments to any registered religious group.Religious groups may also register as unincorporated associations or private corporations, which allows them to receive the same benefits granted to religious corporations.  The same process for registering as unincorporated associations or private corporations applies to religious corporations.  There are no practical differences between them, other than internal administration.  Unregistered religious groups are not subject to penalties and may practice their religion but do not receive the benefits associated with registration.By law, religious groups registered in the country for at least 30 years or internationally recognized for 60 years may obtain the higher registration status of a “religion settled in the country.”  To show they qualify for this status, religious groups must demonstrate an “organized social presence” for the required length of time.  These groups receive government subsidies based on the number of their members; may conclude “mutual interest” agreements with the state on issues such as education, culture, or other forms of cooperation; and may celebrate marriages that are recognized by the state legal system.  The government has mutual interest agreements with Jewish and Islamic religious bodies and a concordat with the Holy See that serves the same function for the Catholic Church.Public secondary schools offer an optional survey course on world religions taught by lay teachers.  Optional religious instruction is available at government expense if at least 10 students attend the class.  Religious groups are responsible for designing the curriculum of the religious classes and providing and training the teachers.  Private schools are required to offer the same curriculum as public schools but may provide instruction in any religion.  All schools, public and private, are required to accommodate the religious practices of students, including rescheduling tests if necessary.The law prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals on the basis of religion and requires reasonable accommodation of employees’ religious practices.  Labor laws allow employees leave on their Sabbath and religious holidays, even if not nationally observed.The ACM, an independent government body operating under the guidelines of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, has a statutory obligation to advocate religious tolerance, including the “promotion of dialogue, innovation, and intercultural and interreligious education” and “combating all forms of discrimination based on color, nationality, ethnic origin, or religion.”The law provides for the naturalization of Jewish descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from the country in the 15th and 16th centuries.The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.																																				Government Practices										In 2021, according to the most recent statistics available, the government it granted naturalized citizenship to 18,121 descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from the country during the Inquisition.  Parliament enacted stricter rules and imposed additional documentation requirements for Sephardic Jewish citizenship applications, which became effective September 1.  The amendments followed media reports of an investigation into possible illegalities in the attribution of nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews, and a related criminal investigation of Rabbi Daniel Litvak of Porto, suspected of facilitating such applications.  The new regulations included, among other requirements, proof of direct descent or family relationship to a Sephardic Jew as well as “effective and lasting connection to Portugal,” such as regular visits, ownership of property, or business ties.  In 2021, the government granted naturalized citizenship to 18,121 descendants of Sephardic Jews expelled from the country during the Inquisition.Also in March, authorities launched an investigation into possible illegalities in the attribution of nationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews and arrested the rabbi of the Porto Israeli Community, Daniel Litvak.  Litvak was awaiting trial at year’s end on charges of using privileged information and connections to secure citizenship for alleged descendants of Sephardic Jews, including for Russian-Israeli oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2021.  The Ministry of Justice’s ongoing investigation probed additional potential crimes, including influence peddling, corruption, document forgery, money laundering, tax fraud, and criminal association.  While the trial was pending, the Lisbon Court of Appeals in a September 27 ruling revoked “coercive measures” the trial court had imposed on Rabbi Litvak, including “Litvak’s obligation to check in with judiciary police three times a week, and a prohibition from contacting defendant Joao Almeida Garrett [a co-defendant in the case] and from leaving national territory.”  The investigation was ongoing at year’s end.Most prisons, state and private hospitals, and military services designated Catholic priests to provide chaplaincy services, but these positions were open to clergy of all religious groups.The ACM continued to hold monthly online meetings with religious groups to consult on issues such as coordination for broader representation of religious groups in chaplaincies, organization of interreligious youth events, and contributions to preparing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April Revolution, set to take place in 2024.  According to the ACM, groups often sought financial assistance from the ACM for conferences and other events.A wide range of religious groups opposed efforts to decriminalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, including those represented in the ACM’s Interfaith Working Group and the Association of Portuguese Catholic Doctors.  Surveys showed that nearly 60 percent of citizens supported decriminalization.  On December 9, parliament approved a bill to decriminalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, supported by a majority of members of parliament from the Socialist (PS), Liberal Initiative (IL), Left Bloc (BE), People-Animals-Nature, Livre (L) parties, and Social Democrats.  The populist Chega! party and the Communist Party (PCP) voted against the legislation.  The bill was then sent to President Rebelo de Sousa, an opponent of the legislation as it stood, who requested Constitutional Court review before taking final action to sign into law or veto.  The court’s decision was pending at year’s end.  Catholic bishops called parliament&#8217;s endorsement “a dangerous message from the state.”On March 25, the Minister of State and of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Mariana Vieira da Silva, inaugurated an art exhibit, Aristides de Sousa Mendes – Humanitarian Reasons.  The exhibit honored Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese diplomat who during World War II was posted in France and helped save more than 30,000 Jews by issuing visas that allowed them to travel through Portugal to escape Nazi persecution.  At the opening ceremony, then-Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva stated, “Through the experience of memory and tribute, we want to contribute so that facts that occurred in 1940 are not repeated.”  The exhibit was the result of a partnership between the government, the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, and the Holocaust Remembrance Commission Never Forget Program.  On September 23, the State Secretary for Internationalization, Bernardo Ivo Cruz, and Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas joined other Portuguese and French officials for the unveiling of a plaque dedicating a promenade on the Boulevard des Batignolles in Paris to de Sousa Mendes.On April 21, during an iftar with members of the country’s Ismaili community held at the Ismaili Center in Lisbon, President Rebelo de Sousa called for respect for freedom and tolerance and described Ramadan as “a privileged moment of reconciliation and peace, renewal of faith, and the practice of charity, fraternity and valuing the family.”  Approximately 100 persons, including two children of the Ismailis’ imam/spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, joined the President.  President Rebelo de Sousa commended the “holistic vision” of Ismaili Muslims as well as their “social awareness and pluralism.”  He said that the country and its people share with the Ismaili community the fundamental goal of doing everything possible to improve the dignity of human life, and he described the iftar in Islam as “a source of spiritual learning.”On June 20, President Rebelo de Sousa awarded Abdool Vakil, the leader of the Islamic Community of Lisbon for over 33 years, with the country’s highest honor, the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator, recognizing his efforts in co-founding the Islamic Community of Lisbon in 1968 and his promotion of the country’s culture, history, and values.  On June 23, the President similarly honored Dr. Joshua Ruah, who presided over the Jewish Community of Lisbon for 23 years, with the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator.The state-run television channel RTP continued half-hour religious programming five days a week, and a separate weekly half-hour program, with segments for both written by registered religious groups.The country is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.																																					Section III.													 Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom												    																																															On September 14, The Faith of Men, an inter-religious program broadcast on the state-owned RTP television station, celebrated its 25th anniversary.  Members of the Commission on Broadcasting Time of Religious Confessions said the program was a vehicle for “fostering interreligious dialogue” and, through collaboration among the different religious denominations, “illustrates well the culture of cooperation and mutual respect that places Portugal as a reference worldwide.”  The commission, comprised of representatives of the Catholic Church, Evangelical Alliance, Islamic community, Baha&#8217;i community, Hindu community, Jewish community, and Seventh-day Adventist Church, recalled interfaith ceremonies in previous years and stressed that the country “has been recognized for interfaith harmony.”From October 12 to 29, the Lisbon municipality’s Galveias Palace housed The Portuguese Jewish Diaspora (15th-20th centuries) art exhibit as a tribute to historic Jewish ties to the country.  Plans continued for the construction of the Tikva Jewish Museum of Lisbon, located in Belém, a collaborative effort between the municipality of Lisbon and the Hagadá Institute.On December 16, Lisbon mayor Moedas and the Israeli Ambassador hosted the first-ever Hanukkah candle lighting at Lisbon City Hall.  The event emphasized the value and importance of respecting religious diversity.  Leaders of different religious faith communities, alongside other societal leaders, together lit the menorah, and all expressed their commitment to religious freedom and diversity.																																					Section IV.													 U.S. Government Policy and Engagement												    																																															Embassy officials met regularly with ACM officials to discuss the importance of mutual respect and understanding among religious communities and the integration of immigrants, many of whom belong to minority religious groups.  The embassy also continued regular discussions with the CLR leadership on various issues, including their views on the ongoing parliamentary process to legalize euthanasia.Senior embassy officials and other embassy representatives continued to discuss issues of religious tolerance and encouraged continued interfaith collaboration and dialogue with representatives of religious groups, including the Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Orthodox, and Jewish communities.On April 27, as one of her first engagements in the country, the Ambassador joined Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders to celebrate the breaking of the Ramadan fast.  The Ambassador posted on her Instagram page photos of the celebration, which was hosted by the Israeli Ambassador and included the mayor of Lisbon.  She used the occasion to discuss the importance of diversity and religious freedom and tolerance, which the Ambassador described as key values of the U.S. and Portuguese people.In September, the embassy sponsored a three-day series of presentations by a Uyghur-American religious freedom activist, attended by government officials, academics, and business and civil society leaders.  The attendees discussed how to apply the lessons shared by the activist to ensure religious freedom and tolerance remained a priority in Portugal.On December 16, the Ambassador delivered remarks emphasizing the value and importance of respecting religious diversity during the first-ever Hanukkah candle lighting at Lisbon City Hall.On December 22, the Ambassador participated in a Chabad menorah lighting in Cascais, hosted by Cascais Mayor Carlos Carreiras, the Israeli Ambassador, and Rabbi Eli Rosenfeld.  At the event, the Ambassador reaffirmed the importance of a steadfast commitment to tolerance and religious freedom and said these were common values in both nations.																																				    							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Religious Demography																																																	Section II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom																																							Legal Framework																																																						Government Practices																																																			Section III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom																																																	Section IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement																																																							Tags																					Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs																								Office of International Religious Freedom																								Portugal																																Religious Freedom
- U.S. Department of State Announces 2,100 Benjamin Gilman Scholars, Expanding Access to Study Abroad for American Undergraduate Students Office of the SpokespersonWorking to expand access to international education opportunities to Americans across the socioeconomic spectrum, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announced today that 2,100 American undergraduate students from 520 U.S. colleges and universities representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico will receive the Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship in the latest round of scholarship awards. The Gilman Scholarship – the Department’s flagship scholarship for U.S. undergraduate students who qualify for federal financial aid, including the Pell Grant – provides financial support for study or internship opportunities, with this latest cohort traveling to more than 80 countries later this year.On average 70 percent of Gilman recipients self-identify as racial or ethnic minorities, 60 percent are from rural areas and small towns across America, and half are first generation college or university students.  All are Pell Grant recipients.  The Gilman Scholarship helps deliver on the Department’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in U.S. foreign policy.In addition, this cohort includes 50 recipients of the John McCain International Scholarship for the Children of Military Families (Gilman-McCain Scholarship), which are awarded to the children and spousal dependents of U.S. military personnel who are active or activated during the application period.  In addition, Gilman Scholars receive support from the governments of France, Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Israel, New Zealand, and Wales, as well as the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in Portugal and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO).Since the program’s inception in 2001, more than 38,000 Gilman Scholars have studied or interned in more than 160 countries around the globe.The Gilman Scholarship is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA); it is implemented by the Institute of International Education (IIE).  To learn more about the Gilman scholarship, and its recipients, including this newest cohort, visit the Gilman Scholarship website.
- Lisbon, Portugal: Carlucci American International School of Lisbon: 2024 Special Needs Profile Office of Overseas SchoolsDownload the Special Needs Profile (Lisbon- 2024 Special Needs- Portugal) for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.&nbsp;The Carlucci American International School of Lisbon (CAISL), founded in 1956, is a nonprofit, nondenominational, coeducational day school that offers an American program of study to approximately 700 students from early childhood (age three) through grade 12 (approximately age 18). The school year is comprised of four quarters.This is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-the-minute information. Information and statistics are current as of December 2023 and provided by the school.NOTE: School situations can change quickly, particularly as schools face cutbacks to learning support programs due to the pandemic, unrest, and economic uncertainty. For the most current information, work with the REO and school. Information in this document was collected by the Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools directly from the school in December 2023 and shows the availability of services rather than an assessment of the quality of the services. The profile is intended as a jumping off point for a conversation with the REO and school to understand the best fit for your child. Definitions may vary school to school.