🇵🇹 Daily Portugal news for expats & investors — FREE Subscribe
The Portugal Brief

The Portugal Brief

Hovione Names António Almeida and Marco Gil Co-CEOs as Jean-Luc Herbeaux Steps Down on 21 May After Three-Year Run — Both Incoming Executives Carry 19-Year Tenures and the Permanent CEO Search Is Already Open

Hovione Names António Almeida and Marco Gil Co-CEOs as Jean-Luc Herbeaux Steps Down on 21 May After Three-Year Run — Both Incoming Executives Carry 19-Year Tenures and the Permanent CEO Search Is Already Open

Hovione, Portugal's flagship pharmaceutical contract-development-and-manufacturing group, will replace Jean-Luc Herbeaux with a two-person co-CEO bridge on 21 May 2026. António Almeida (CFO) and Marco Gil (SVP Sales & Marketing) take the top job jointly; both joined Hovione in 2007.
The Portugal Brief
Family Reunification (Reagrupamento Familiar) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the AIMA Process, the Lei 23/2007 Framework, the Spouse, Children and Parent Tracks, and the Documentary Chain to the Cartão de Residência

Family Reunification (Reagrupamento Familiar) in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the AIMA Process, the Lei 23/2007 Framework, the Spouse, Children and Parent Tracks, and the Documentary Chain to the Cartão de Residência

Family reunification in Portugal runs through AIMA under Lei 23/2007 and covers spouses, minor and adult-dependent children, parents over 65 and unmarried partners in união de facto. The 2026 guide walks the three tracks, the documents, the wait times and the appeals path.
The Portugal Brief
Brussels Spring 2026 Forecast for Portugal Lands Wednesday 21 May — The Spring 2025 Baseline Read 2.2% GDP, 0.3% Deficit and 2.0% Inflation, and a Brent-and-Hormuz Quarter Has Reset Almost Every Input

Brussels Spring 2026 Forecast for Portugal Lands Wednesday 21 May — The Spring 2025 Baseline Read 2.2% GDP, 0.3% Deficit and 2.0% Inflation, and a Brent-and-Hormuz Quarter Has Reset Almost Every Input

The European Commission's Spring 2026 Economic Forecast lands Wednesday 21 May. The Spring 2025 baseline read Portugal at 2.2% GDP for 2026, 0.3% deficit, 2.0% inflation, with debt declining off the 93.6% 2024 print. A Brent-and-Hormuz quarter has reset almost every input.
The Portugal Brief
Tribunal de Contas Detects 49 Oeiras Directors Operating 'Without Legal Legitimacy' — Auditoria de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras Walks Into the Ministério Público, Seixal Adds Six Years of Direção em Substituição Across Two Mandates

Tribunal de Contas Detects 49 Oeiras Directors Operating 'Without Legal Legitimacy' — Auditoria de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras Walks Into the Ministério Público, Seixal Adds Six Years of Direção em Substituição Across Two Mandates

TdC's Auditorias de Apuramento de Responsabilidades Financeiras land at the Ministério Público: 49 Oeiras directors held posts past the 90-day substituição cap, Seixal ran its leadership em substituição for six-plus years, and the financial-responsibility door is now open.
The Portugal Brief
Cascais's 'Free Lunch' Walks Into Porto and Viseu — Pedro Duarte Locks a €20.5 Million Free-Transit Contract for 1 July, Viseu Approves a €1 Million Universal Pass on 8 May and the Tribunal de Contas Becomes the Last Gate

Cascais's 'Free Lunch' Walks Into Porto and Viseu — Pedro Duarte Locks a €20.5 Million Free-Transit Contract for 1 July, Viseu Approves a €1 Million Universal Pass on 8 May and the Tribunal de Contas Becomes the Last Gate

Porto signs a €20.5M/year free-transit contract for residents across the entire AMP, targeting 1 July activation pending Tribunal de Contas visto. Viseu adds a €1M universal pass on 8 May. The Cascais Viver model is going national, one Câmara at a time.
The Portugal Brief
Despacho 5797/2026 Walks the APA and ICNF Restructuring Into a 28 June Diagnostic Deadline — Gonçalo Matias and Graça Carvalho Promise AI-Driven Licensing and a Pivot From Prior Control to Post-Facto Inspection

Despacho 5797/2026 Walks the APA and ICNF Restructuring Into a 28 June Diagnostic Deadline — Gonçalo Matias and Graça Carvalho Promise AI-Driven Licensing and a Pivot From Prior Control to Post-Facto Inspection

Despacho 5797/2026 opens the inter-ministerial restructuring of APA and ICNF with a 28 June diagnostic deadline. Matias and Graça Carvalho commit to AI-driven licensing and a pivot from prior control to post-facto inspection. Zero, Quercus, WWF and SPEA push back.
The Portugal Brief