Romani people in Portugal Romani people in Portugal The Romani people in Portugal are known by non-Romani ethnic Portuguese as (), but are also alternatively known as , , and . As implied by some of their most common local names, the native Portuguese Romani belong to the Iberian Kale (Kalos) group, like most of the fellow Lusophone Brazilian , and the Spanish Romani people, known as , that share their same ethnic group. Their presence in the country goes back to the second half of the 15th century when they crossed the border from neighbouring Spain. Early on, due to their sociocultural differences,
Portugal and occupation. On 26 March 1995, Portugal started to implement Schengen Area rules, eliminating border controls with other Schengen members while simultaneously strengthening border controls with non-member states. In 1996 the country was a co-founder of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) headquartered in Lisbon. Expo '98 took place in Portugal and in 1999 it was one of the founding countries of the euro and the eurozone. On 5 July 2004, José Manuel Barroso, then Prime Minister of Portugal, was nominated President of the European Commission, the most powerful office in the European Union. On 1 December 2009, the