Portugal will recognize a Palestinian state on Sunday, the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.

The Official Declaration of Recognition will take place even before next week's High-Level Conference, it added.

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel already said this week that the country was considering the recognition of a Palestinian state during a visit to the UK.

Unlike neighboring Spain, whose leftist government recognized Palestinian statehood in May 2024 alongside Ireland and Norway and called on other EU countries to do the same, Portugal has taken a more cautious approach, saying it wanted to work out a common position with other EU countries first.

Multiple EU members already support the recognition

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, September 10, 2025 (credit: REUTERS)

Only a handful of the 27 European Union members recognize Palestine as a State, mostly former Communist countries as well as Sweden and Cyprus.

The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine in November 2012 by upgrading its observer status at the world body to "non-member state" from "entity."