Afternoon Edition — Saturday, 18 April 2026
In this afternoon's briefing: • Lula Arrives Monday With Seven Ministers — Immigration and Xenophobia Top the Agenda • Brussels Warns It Will Enforce EU Press Freedom Rules Over Lusa Shake-Up • Revolution Museum Has No Home One Week Before 25 de Abril
Good afternoon. Here is what happened since this morning.
Lula Arrives in Lisbon Monday With Seven Ministers — Immigration, Xenophobia, and Aeronautics Top the Agenda
Brazilian President Lula da Silva will meet Prime Minister Montenegro and President Seguro on Monday 21 April, the final stop of a European tour. A 15-strong delegation — including seven ministers and the heads of Petrobras, BNDES, and APEX-Brasil — will focus on immigration, combating xenophobia, aeronautical cooperation, and the concerns of the nearly 485,000 Brazilians living in Portugal. It marks the first official meeting between Lula and President Seguro.
Brussels Warns It Will Enforce EU Press Freedom Rules if Lusa Agency Shake-Up Falls Short
The European Commission has warned Portugal it will use enforcement powers if new governance statutes for the Lusa news agency fail to comply with the European Media Freedom Act. At issue is a 13-member Advisory Council in which six seats are controlled by political entities. Unions accuse the model of promoting state control over editorial independence. The Commission cited Article 5 of the EMFA, which requires member states to guarantee independence of public media providers.
Revolution Museum Has No Home, No Money, and No Timeline — One Week Before the 25 de Abril Holiday
The Centro Interpretativo do 25 de Abril — announced in January 2024 as a flagship legacy of the revolution's 50th anniversary — has stalled. The original EUR 5.2 million project at Terreiro do Paço lost its premises when the ministry never relocated. The government has suggested the former MFA headquarters at Pontinha as an alternative, but no budget, timeline, or formal decision has followed. Completion is now unlikely before 2027.
Earlier Today
- IAG Walks Away From TAP Sale — Lufthansa and Air France-KLM Left as Only Bidders
- US Orders for Portuguese Wine Dry Up as 15% Tariff Bites
- France-Portugal Treaty of Porto Enters Force
- Government to Exempt Church Abuse Compensation From Tax
- Porto's Babell Festival Brings Rushdie, Atwood, and a Nobel Laureate
- Flight Bookings to Portugal Jump 21% as Travellers Swap the Middle East for the Algarve
