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Açores

Portugal's High-Speed-Vessel Crackdown Takes Effect on Sunday 17 May After 90-Day Vacatio Legis — 1-to-4-Year Prison for Flagless EAVs, €100,000 Corporate Fines and the 'Narcopirataria' Regime Inherits the October Guadiana GNR Fatality

Portugal's High-Speed-Vessel Crackdown Takes Effect on Sunday 17 May After 90-Day Vacatio Legis — 1-to-4-Year Prison for Flagless EAVs, €100,000 Corporate Fines and the 'Narcopirataria' Regime Inherits the October Guadiana GNR Fatality

Portugal's new high-speed-vessel regime enters force on Sunday 17 May after a 90-day vacatio legis. Flagless EAVs draw 1-4 years in prison; €25k individual / €100k corporate fines; DGRM licensing and AT customs become non-optional. PJ has seized 200+ narcolanchas in six years.
The Portugal Brief
Bolieiro Walks the Açores Into the First Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on 12 May Asking for More US and NATO Troops at Lajes — Regional President Pitches the Atlantic Archipelago as a Submarine-Cable and Data-Centre Hub for the Alliance

Bolieiro Walks the Açores Into the First Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on 12 May Asking for More US and NATO Troops at Lajes — Regional President Pitches the Atlantic Archipelago as a Submarine-Cable and Data-Centre Hub for the Alliance

The president of the Açores regional government, José Manuel Bolieiro, walked into the first Conferência de Regiões in Ponta Delgada on Monday 12 May 2026 and answered the obvious question that has hung over the Lajes file since the United States...
The Portugal Brief
Going to the Beach in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the 396 Bandeira Azul Beaches, the ISN Lifeguard Calendar, the Praia Acessível Programme, the Águas Balneares APA Reports and the Algarve, Costa de Prata and Costa Verde Maps

Going to the Beach in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the 396 Bandeira Azul Beaches, the ISN Lifeguard Calendar, the Praia Acessível Programme, the Águas Balneares APA Reports and the Algarve, Costa de Prata and Costa Verde Maps

Portugal's 1,793-kilometre Atlantic coast carries 396 Bandeira Azul beaches in 2026. This practical guide walks the institutional architecture — the Bandeira Azul ecolabel, the ISN lifeguard calendar, the bandeira colour code, the Praia Acessível programme and the Águas Balneares APA reports.
The Portugal Brief
Açores: CIVISA Walks the Faial-Pico Channel Volcanic Alert From V1 Back Down to V0 After a Month of Submarine Tremors at the Cachorro System — Quake Swarm From 1 April Triggered the Alert; Decline Brings Reference Levels Back

Açores: CIVISA Walks the Faial-Pico Channel Volcanic Alert From V1 Back Down to V0 After a Month of Submarine Tremors at the Cachorro System — Quake Swarm From 1 April Triggered the Alert; Decline Brings Reference Levels Back

CIVISA has lowered the Faial-Pico Channel volcanic alert from V1 back to V0 after a month-long quake swarm at the Cachorro Submarine Volcanic System eased. The alert had been raised in early April; events ran from 20km depth to near-surface.
The Portugal Brief