The word spreading through Europe's immigration debate

A campaign to reverse immigration across Europe was blocked by Brussels last month. The word behind it is one worth understanding. It's Wednesday, 26 August. Twenty-five degrees. Air quality: 34 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

🗞️ WHAT IS THE "SAVE EUROPE ACT" AND WHAT DOES "REMIGRATION" MEAN?

Earlier this summer, a group led by Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek and Austrian activist Martin Sellner, co-founder of the Identitarian Movement of Austria and a leading figure in the broader Generation Identity network, submitted what is known as a European Citizens' Initiative. The mechanism allows citizens to collect one million signatures across at least seven EU member states and formally ask the European Commission to propose legislation.

Their petition, called the "Save Europe Act," called for a moratorium on what it described as "non-Western" immigration channels, including study visas and family-reunification visas, and for the "systematic and accelerated remigration" of irregular migrants and broader categories of non-European migrants whose continued presence, it argued, burdens member states. It framed the proposal around what it called the right of European peoples to preserve their "ethnic and cultural continuity." It has gathered more than 700,000 signatures.

On 22 July, the Commission refused to register it. It is the most high-profile case of a European Citizens' Initiative being blocked not because it falls outside the EU's powers, but because its content breaches the Union's core values. The Commission found that the distinction between "Western" and "non-Western" migrants amounted to racial and ethnic discrimination under Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union. It also cited the Court of Justice's April 2026 judgment in Commission v Hungary, which ruled that respect for national identity cannot justify measures incompatible with the Union's founding values. The organisers have threatened a legal challenge.

The word at the centre of this, "remigration," is worth pausing on. It does not mean voluntary return. In the context in which Sellner and Vlaardingerbroek use it, and in the way it circulates across Europe's far right, it means the organised, state-led removal of settled immigrants, including those with legal residence, on the basis of their ethnic or cultural background. It is a policy of reversal, not of border control.

This matters in Portugal because the language is already here. Chega's André Ventura has repeatedly used the framing of "cultural replacement" and has pushed for restrictions on family reunification, tighter naturalisation rules, and the face-covering ban signed into law last week. The V-Dem democracy report published on Friday placed Portugal on an autocratisation watchlist for the first time, citing Chega's rise from one seat in parliament in 2019 to 60 in the May 2025 elections. The nationality law changes passed earlier this year extended naturalisation timelines and were cited by V-Dem's researchers as an example of legislative convergence between PSD and Chega.

None of this means Portugal is about to adopt a remigration policy. The Commission's refusal of the Save Europe Act is itself evidence that the EU's legal architecture treats such proposals as fundamentally incompatible with the treaties. But the word is entering mainstream European political debate, it has sympathisers in the Portuguese parliament, and if you live in Portugal as a foreign national, it is worth knowing what it means and where it comes from.

Bottom line: the Save Europe Act was blocked, but the idea behind it has not gone away. "Remigration" is not a fringe term any more. It is a policy proposal with more than 700,000 signatures and political allies across the continent, including in Portugal.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Lisbon's mayor says the government has not delivered a single one of the 200 police officers it promised. Carlos Moedas, speaking on the sidelines of Municipal Firefighter Day, said the commitment was made three months ago by PM Luís Montenegro: 200 additional PSP, the public security police, officers for Lisbon and 100 municipal police. None have arrived. "The time has come for the government to fulfil its promise," Moedas said, while acknowledging this was the first government in years to make such a pledge. He is due to meet Interior Minister Luís Neves this week, followed by a restricted Municipal Security Council with PSP and the Municipal Police. The statement comes days after eight men were stabbed or shot across Greater Lisbon in a single night.

Portugal's blood stocks have fallen to critically low levels, with some types down to two or three days of supply. The Federation of Portuguese Voluntary Blood Donors (FEPODABES) says A+, A-, O+, O- and B- are all significantly below desirable levels, with some at around 40% of the recommended reserve. The IPST, the national blood and transplantation institute, gives a less severe picture, saying its early August figures showed between 11 and 29 days of reserves depending on the type. Both agree the summer drop in donations is a factor, but FEPODABES points to cancelled collection sessions due to staff shortages as the deeper problem. Portugal needs around 1,100 units of blood a day. Expats can donate: you need to be aged 18 to 65, weigh over 50kg, and be healthy. Any nationality.

Portugal's crop forecasts are holding steady despite the heat and drought. The national statistics institute, INE, says production estimates for cereals, fruit and wine grapes remain broadly in line with the five-year average, despite a summer marked by heatwaves and below-average rainfall. Olive oil is the exception: output is expected to fall, partly due to the cyclical nature of olive production and partly due to water stress. Wine grape harvests in the Douro and Alentejo started earlier than usual because of the heat, but volume forecasts have not been revised down.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

PALMS PIZZERIA (SANTOS)

Palms is a New York-style pizza-by-the-slice joint on Travessa dos Mastros in Santos, opened by a pair of Brits called Stuart and Josh who ran the original in Margate, where it made The Times's list of the 50 best pizzerias in the UK. The Lisbon version is the second location, and it keeps the formula tight: a short menu of pizzas, enormous 20-inch pies, hip-hop and punk on the speakers, 14 seats, and a counter where you point at what you want.

Slices start from a few euros. A whole pizza runs around €20 to €25. The House Pie, with hot honey and stracciatella, and the Vodka Pie are the ones most people mention. There is a house IPA, Portuguese natural wine, and shots at the bar.

It is open Tuesday to Sunday for dinner only, closed Mondays, and closes early to keep the neighbours happy. Check live hours before you go.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: go early. The slices come out of the oven in rounds, and the best ones go first. By late evening the choice narrows to whatever is left.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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