The European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson has acknowledged that progress on the new Pact for Migration and Asylum, proposed by the European Commission in September, has been "slow".
EU member states on Monday (10 May) approved a strengthened EU Civil Protection Mechanism, with new rules to better prepare for emergencies like forest fires, and more resources allowing a faster response to new threats such as pandemics.
Portugal's Prime Minister on Monday (10 May) considered arguments that blame Germany for the EU’s less open position on the lifting of patents on COVID-19 vaccines "unfair", stressing that most member states follow the same line.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday (8 May) that Paris was ready to pick up the baton on the EU’s minimum wage proposal if an agreement cannot be reached during the Portuguese EU presidency, which ends on 1 July.
The European Commission is considering future presidencies after Portugal's presidency as a 'plan B' should Portugal fail to reach consensus in the Council on the definition of minimum wages, according to EU Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmit.
European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, underlined on Friday (7 May) that it is a real problem that "too few" social rights exist, calling for a collective duty of the EU to provide concrete answers to citizens.
It is necessary to invest in training people, social protection and new forms of green and digital work, considering that Europe has enormous possibilities to do so, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, urged on Friday...
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said on Wednesday (5 May) he hoped that the summit between leaders of the EU and India would open an "important new chapter" between Brussels and New Delhi, despite the "dramatic scenario" of the pandemic.
Any Chinese military base in the Atlantic Ocean is unnecessary and any such hypothesis would be viewed with "strong concern", Portugal's minister of defence, João Gomes Cravinho, has said, adding that it was "not a good idea" to transform this region into a scenario of "geopolitical conflict".
The EU-India bilateral summit which had been planned to take place during Portugal's presidency of the Council of the EU has been postponed until the leaders involved can attend in person, Portugal's minister of foreign affairs confirmed on Tuesday (5 May).
The European Commission has received national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRP) from 14 countries to access the bloc's €750 billion recovery fund. 13 of the EU's 27 member states are still missing from the list.
Jean-Claude Juncker believes that Portugal will be able to achieve concrete results at the Porto Social Summit, commenting that if Prime Minister António Costa is not successful, "no one will be, because he is one of the best".
Member states will hopefully reach a common position on the definition of EU minimum wages before the end of Portugal’s presidency of the Council, which runs until June, European Commissioner for employment, Nicolas Schmit, told Lusa.pt, highlighting the “efforts” made...
Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker believes the European Union has to be "less naive" with China, saying that "Europeans have to organise their relations" better with other foreign powers.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday (29 April) welcomed the adoption by the European Parliament of its negotiating position on plans for a digital pass proving COVID-19 testing, recovery or vaccination to facilitate travel, pending negotiations with the Portuguese EU Council presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The European Parliament approved on Tuesday (27 April) a strengthened legal framework for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to ensure that the EU is better prepared "to respond to future large-scale emergencies".
Portugal has urged member states and EU institutions to "act without delay" to support European tourism to recover from the crisis, also calling for rapid progress in the creation of the green passport.
The Portuguese EU Council presidency is working so that the process of releasing the €750 trillion from the EU's post-pandemic Recovery Fund can be shortened by at least one month.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday called for the creation of an African Green Deal which, like the European Green Deal, would be the "centrepiece" for Africa's recovery.
The European commissioner for energy, Kadri Simson, said on Thursday (22 April) that member states should take advantage of the European Union's historic €1.8 trillion budget and recovery fund to invest in energy efficiency.
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa has said that the European initiative called the New European Bauhaus was of crucial importance to ensure that the bloc achieved its climate goals.
European Commission Vice-President Dubravka Šuica has underlined that the three European institutions - Parliament, Council and Commission - will speak with "one voice" through the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The European commissioner for energy, Kadri Simson, on Tuesday (20 April) underlined the importance of the 'Renovation Wave' strategy in combating energy poverty in the European Union, saying that sustainable, energy-efficient buildings should be "the new normal".
The President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on Tuesday (20 April) called for "coordinated action" across the European Union to tackle energy poverty, warning that poverty is "likely" to increase once bank moratoriums are lifted.
