At the beginning of 2014, the total population of EU countries was 506.8 million.

Foreign citizens living in EU countries accounted for fewer than 7%, as reported by from official statistics by Eurostat.

Algarve hotel occupancy rate for December hit 32.3%, a rise year-on-year of over 11%, according to the Association of Hotels and Resorts in the Algarve.

Turnover also increased compared to last year, by 13.8%.

The mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, who also is the Algarve Social Democratic Pary leader, has come out in support of the Socialist Party former Prime Minister, José Sócrates, (pictured) in a remarkable departure from party protocol.

Luís Gomes said that he was talking "in a personal capacity" and that the PSD party, led by Pedro Passos Coelho, has always respected the freedom of citizens to say what they want, (however off message it might be.)

Portugal had not had such a warm December since 1989. In fact December 2015 was the second warmest December in Portugal for 84 years with a maximum temperature reaching the highest value since 1931.

December’s average temperature was 11.8 degrees Centigrade, about 1.8 degrees above the average. In terms of rain, December had lower than normal rainfall and was the sixth driest since 1931.

Germany registered 1.1 million refugees in 2015, the majority of whom were from Syria.

The total was a five-fold increase over 2014.

The Socialist Party manifesto pledge, that Portugal’s workers again shall enjoy the full suite of public holidays, is to be carried out.

Portugal lost four holidays under the Pedro Passos Coelho coalition government which, citing ‘austerity,’ removed two religious and two secular days off to increase Portugal’s output.

The Left Bloc’s Catarina Martins successfully has called on former and current Tax Authority bosses to explain to parliament how Portugal’s richest families pay a modicum of tax while the rest of us stump up the full whack or risk losing our homes.

The fictional 'low taxes for rich bastards' scheme became fact late last year when former tax boss José Azevedo Pereira let slip during a TV interview that there indeed was a two tier system that enabled thousands of the richest families in the country proportionally to pay less tax than Portugal’s hard-working, but no so wealthy, contributors.

Novo Banco and Caixa Geral de Depósitos are to increase their annual fees for ATM cards, with Portugal’s remaining banks soon to following suit.

The price hike of around 20% has spurred consumer watchdog, Deco, to call for the imposition of a limit.