Santa Casa da Misericordia de Serpa is a well-established Portuguese social institution that runs hospitals, nursing homes and housing projects for elderly.

Despite women playing a key role in the life of rural communities, studies show they leave their villages in greater numbers than men do. This leads to demographic imbalances and inhibits local economic and social development.

At the end of June 2018 the Baltic countries and Poland came to a political agreement for synchronising the Baltic States' electricity grid with the continental European network by 2025.