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The Sines oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Portugal, with tall chimneys and flare stacks burning against a blue sky above green pine woodland

Portugal Revives a Windfall Levy on Oil Refiners as Galp's First-Half Profit Jumps 44 Percent

The Council of Ministers has approved a Temporary Solidarity Contribution on the oil sector, a windfall-style levy on refiners' profits that run far above normal years. It arrives as Galp posts an €812 million first-half profit, up 44 percent, with Brussels' approval secured back in April.

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

Nine Years On, CGD Finds a Buyer for Its Brazil Bank, Closing an EU-Ordered Exit

State-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos has found a buyer for its Brazilian subsidiary, selling Banco Caixa Geral — Brasil to newly formed MD Capital. The disposal, ordered by Brussels in 2016 as a condition of CGD's €3.9bn recapitalisation, completes a sale attempted twice before and is expected to cl

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

A speaker on the main stage at the Web Summit technology conference in Lisbon, in front of a large glowing purple and blue LED backdrop reading 'let's create a smart new era together'

Portugal Readies an 'AI Fast Track' Visa to Draw Foreign Artificial-Intelligence Specialists Within 20 Days

The government is preparing an 'AI Fast Track' visa to attract foreign artificial-intelligence researchers and specialists, promising decisions in as little as 20 days. Modelled on an existing priority lane run by AIMA, it forms part of a €400m-plus National AI Agenda and is due to launch before the

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

Allianz Portugal Buys Caravela in a €150 Million Deal, Becoming the Country's Fourth-Largest Non-Life Insurer

Allianz Portugal has agreed to buy 100 percent of non-life insurer Caravela in a deal reported at around €150 million, lifting its market share to 6.4 percent and making it Portugal's fourth-largest non-life insurer and third in motor cover. The ASF and Competition Authority must still approve.

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

General Daily Briefing — Thursday, 30 July 2026

General Daily Briefing — Thursday, 30 July 2026

Good morning. Here is your Thursday briefing for 30 July 2026 — six stories shaping Portugal today, from a courtroom fight over Sintra's tourist coaches to the eucalyptus rows reignited by another week of wildfires: * A court agreed to hear tour operators' challenge to Sintra's summer

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

A plantation of tall eucalyptus trees beside open farmland and umbrella pines in rural Portugal

A Forestry Movement Accuses the Government of Bankrolling Eucalyptus as Wildfires Sweep Europe

As fires burned across Portugal and southern Europe, the Movimento Floresta do Futuro accused the government of still bankrolling flammable eucalyptus over native woodland, demanding incentives be redirected to fire-resistant species and rural communities.

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

The illuminated neoclassical facade of the Assembleia da República, Portugal's parliament, at night in Lisbon

The Finance Ministry Strips Policy Reforms From the 2027 Budget to Ease It Through a Divided Parliament

The Finance Ministry is drafting the 2027 State Budget without 'budget riders,' keeping labour-law changes and further IRS cuts out of the bill to ease it past a parliament the coalition doesn't control. It must reach the Assembly of the Republic by 12 October.

The Portugal Brief 30 Jul 2026

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