Cristiano Ronaldo touched down in Madeira with the Euro 2016 trophy

In northern Sweden, EU and Swedish officials have inaugurated the first spaceport for satellite launches on the European Union mainland.

Kurds living in Sweden are concerned over an agreement reached between the Swedish and Finnish governments and Turkey, which has threatened to block the two countries from joining NATO over their alleged harboring of Kurdish militants.

In September of 2022, Spain announced that it would no longer fully honour the Albufeira Convention, a treaty on water transfers to neighbouring Portugal. Extreme drought has left Spanish reservoirs at a third of their average capacity this year, a situation not seen since 1995. Portuguese farmers are finding the decision difficult to accept, while environmentalists say it creates a major ecological risk.

Kurdish and anti-Islam protests in Sweden have angered Turkey, threatening the Nordic countries' joint NATO application. Turkey has thus far blocked the pair's NATO bid.

The Turkish president reiterated Ankara's demands that Sweden extradite "terrorists." Finland and Sweden have made a joint bid to join the military alliance, ending decades of non-alignment.

People in Turkey are protesting a Quran burning that occurred in Stockholm last week. The controversy could stall Sweden's NATO bid, which needs Ankara's approval.

Japan's Kazuyoshi Miura continues his playing career in Portugal a month shy of his 56th birthday.

An anti-NATO rally in Stockholm that would have included the burning of a Quran has not been allowed to go ahead. It comes after a similar incident sparked threats from NATO member Turkey.

Northern Portugal is believed to contain the largest lithium reserves in Europe. These resources have attracted the attention of some of the world's largest mining companies. London-based firm Savannah Resources wants to open the continent's biggest open-cast lithium mine in the village of Covas do Barroso by 2026.

Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids remain blocked by members Turkey and Hungary. Germany's top diplomat Annalena Baerbock said she expected their NATO accession to take place "without further delay."

Turkey has agreed to discuss Sweden and Finland's membership bid with NATO. The two countries decided to join the security alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. Negotiations began last June, but were called off in January.

Sweden is using its presidency of the EU Council to keep European countries mobilised in their support for Ukraine, and to try to enforce the current sanctions on Russia more effectively. Sweden's EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall speaks to Talking Europe about those issues, as well as Sweden's application to join NATO, and Stockholm's other priorities in its EU presidency, which is now two months into its six-month stint.