Lisbon, June 18, 2025 (Lusa) - The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has made two priority recommendations to the Portuguese authorities: more training for police to deal with hate incidents and crimes, and “decent and safe housing” for Roma.
Five years after its last report, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), a Council of Europe body, published the findings on Wednesday of a group of independent experts who analysed racism, discrimination, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance in Portugal.
The researchers conclude that the situation has improved in several areas, and they are therefore making 15 recommendations to the Portuguese authorities today to address the remaining concerns.
From this list, ECRI has selected two priority issues and presents proposals for improvement: one concerns how police and judicial authorities handle cases of hatred, and the other focuses on the situation of Roma.
The report recalls that Portugal experiences cases of hate-motivated violence, sometimes involving neo-Nazi groups. However, the experts note that the police frequently fail to record complaints and that few cases reach trial.
The experts conclude that only a small percentage of cases reaching the courts lead to judicial decisions and recommend implementing measures to improve relations and trust between the police and certain groups, such as migrants, black people, LGBTI people and Roma.
ECRI therefore calls on the Portuguese authorities to establish standard operating protocols and procedures to “help police authorities effectively process hate incidents and crimes”.
In addition to these instruments, the experts also recommend that police officers and criminal justice professionals attend specific training programmes to deal with these issues.
This is one of the two main recommendations of the study released today, which also pays special attention to Roma.
“Roma, most of whom are Portuguese citizens, still await the support that would fully include them among the most engaged groups in the country,” reads the study, which calls for an expansion of the current, isolated projects for this group, aiming for “greater funding and broader coverage.”
Roma people continue to pursue improved living conditions. Experts report that Roma people “live in segregated neighbourhoods, degraded areas or in shacks, often without drinking water, electricity or sanitation”.
Furthermore, in the last five years, the ECRI observes, “limited progress has been made.” Therefore, it recommends “rapid and decisive measures to ensure decent and safe housing conditions for Roma living in precarious settlements, including slums.”
The experts promise to carry out a provisional follow-up on these two recommendations within two years.
However, the Council of Europe body also recognises that there are “successful initiatives”, such as the ROMA Educa programme, set up to promote regular school attendance and success.
However, Roma pupils continue to face challenges, “especially in the transition to secondary education and in promoting timely school completion”.
Since the last report in 2018, Portugal has made progress in several areas, including the establishment of the new Commission for Equality and against Racial Discrimination (CICDR).
Also on the LGBTI community, researchers consider that Portugal has “made significant progress”, pointing to improvements such as the creation of a specific action plan, the recognition of the right to self-determination of gender identity and the criminalisation of so-called “conversion therapies”.
The study also welcomes Portugal’s adoption in 2021 of its first National Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination, highlighting actions to promote respectful speech and prevent hate crimes.
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