27 January – The National Health Institute confirms that there are five positive cases of theZika virus in Portugal. Described as "mild" with no need for hospitalisation, each case was imported from Brazil wherean outbreak of the virus has been reported.[2]
10 February – PresidentAnibal Cavaco Silva's veto against a measure allowing same-sex couples to adopt is overridden by MPs in theAssembly of the Republic. The measure, which was passed by MPs in November 2014, will be signed into law within eight days as per theconstitution.[3]
12–14 February – Severe weather across areas of northern and central Portugal leads to flooding which claims the life of one person in the town ofAlbergaria-a-Velha in theAveiro District. Transport links are also affected as theÁgueda,Mondego, andVouga rivers burst their banks and localised landslides and damage to trees occur.[4]
16 February – Figures from theInstituto Nacional de Estatística reveals that the number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal in 2015 topped 10 million for the first time, a rise of 10% over 2014. The number of domestic tourists also grew by more than 7%, contributing to a growth of more than 13% in the hospitality industry for the year. The travel and tourism sector is worth approximately 10% of Portugal'sgross domestic product.[5]
9 March – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is sworn in as the 20th President of Portugal.[6]
7 May – The Marão Tunnel in theVila Real District is officially opened by Prime Minister António Costa. Constructed at a cost of €137 million and delayed from its planned opening date of 2012 due to various financial and legal obstacles, the 5.7-kilometre (3.5 mi) tunnel is the longest of its kind on the Iberian peninsula.[7]
24 May – Frederico Carvalhão, a spy for thePortugal's intelligence service, is arrested in Rome after being accused of sharing classified information aboutNATO and the European Union with a Russian intelligence officer.[13]
7 June – The longest case of womb survival in abrain dead mother in Portugal is recorded after the birth of a boy in Lisbon'sSão José Hospital to a woman whose brain activity ceased on 20 February.[14]
5–11 August – Aseries of wildfires break out across Madeira and the Portuguese mainland after a spell of temperatures above 35°C.[16] On 10 August the National Authority for Civil Protection announces that more than 4,000 emergency workers were attending 176 active fires across Portuguese territory, one of which was threatening the Madeiran capital ofFunchal. The day also sees the confirmation of four deaths with three in Madeira and one on the mainland.[16] On 11 AugustThe New York Times reports that approximately 150 homes in Funchal have been destroyed by fire, forcing the evacuation of at least 1,000 people to temporary shelter.[17]
7 August – Incycling,Rui Vinhas wins the2016 Volta a Portugal in a time of 40 hours, 56 minutes, and 57 seconds. He is the first Portuguese victor of the event since 2011.[20]
9 August – The European Union declines to financially penalise the Portuguese government for failing to abide by national deficit limits in 2015, citing "exceptional circumstances".[21] The government is given until the end of the year to bring its deficit down from 4.4% ofgross domestic product to 2.5%.[21]
23 August – The government and theEuropean Commission agree in principle to a €2.7 billion injection of cash for the strugglingCaixa Geral de Depositos bank, which reported a loss of more than €200 million in the first six months of the year.[22]
27 September – Prime Minister António Costa announces that a series of artworks by Spanish painterJoan Miró under public ownership will remain in the country after plans to sell the collection in 2014 were shelved due to public criticism.[23]
8 November – Twenty members of a Neo-Nazi group are arrested by police across the country on charges including attempted murder and theft carried out between 2013 and 2015.[27]
^"Faleceu uma lenda..."Atlético Clube de Portugal (in Portuguese). 24 February 2016. Archived fromthe original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved1 December 2016.
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