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The Portugal Brief

The Portugal Brief

Porto's Assembleia Municipal Approves Free Public Transport for the City's 252,687 Residents — €20.5 Million-a-Year Cartão Porto Will Cover the Whole Andante Network From January 2027, With a Pedro Duarte Push to Pull the Start Forward to This Summer

Porto's Assembleia Municipal Approves Free Public Transport for the City's 252,687 Residents — €20.5 Million-a-Year Cartão Porto Will Cover the Whole Andante Network From January 2027, With a Pedro Duarte Push to Pull the Start Forward to This Summer

Porto's Assembleia Municipal voted Monday night to make public transport free for the city's 252,687 residents — a €20.5 million-a-year Cartão Porto scheme covering the entire Andante network. Legal start: 1 January 2027. Câmara president Pedro Duarte is pushing for a summer 2026 rollout.
The Portugal Brief
Tolls and the Via Verde System in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the SCUT Corridors and the Tolled-Highway Map, the Identifier Devices, the Easy Toll, Toll Card and Visitors Schemes, and the Foreign-Plate Pitfalls

Tolls and the Via Verde System in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the SCUT Corridors and the Tolled-Highway Map, the Identifier Devices, the Easy Toll, Toll Card and Visitors Schemes, and the Foreign-Plate Pitfalls

Portugal's toll system is two networks: the manned-and-Via-Verde tolled highways and the all-electronic SCUT corridors that have no booths at all. A 2026 guide for foreign residents to the devices, prices, the Easy Toll / Toll Card / Visitors options and the foreign-plate pitfalls.
The Portugal Brief
Brasília's ANP Approves Galp's Berbigão and Sururu Unitization Agreements Eight Years After Submission — The Portuguese Producer Settles at 6.45% in Berbigão and 9.497% in Sururu of the Pre-Sal Block BM-S-11A That Has Been Pumping Since 2019

Brasília's ANP Approves Galp's Berbigão and Sururu Unitization Agreements Eight Years After Submission — The Portuguese Producer Settles at 6.45% in Berbigão and 9.497% in Sururu of the Pre-Sal Block BM-S-11A That Has Been Pumping Since 2019

Brazil's Agência Nacional do Petróleo cleared Galp's eight-year-pending unitization for Berbigão and Sururu on 4 May 2026. Galp's stake settles at 6.45% / 9.497% — and the Lisbon producer says financials already book the change since Q3 2022.
The Portugal Brief
Surfing in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the FPS-Registered Surf Schools, Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve, Peniche's Supertubos, Nazaré's Praia do Norte, the Costa Vicentina Spots, the Wetsuit Calendar and the Lesson-Pricing Reality

Surfing in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the FPS-Registered Surf Schools, Ericeira's World Surfing Reserve, Peniche's Supertubos, Nazaré's Praia do Norte, the Costa Vicentina Spots, the Wetsuit Calendar and the Lesson-Pricing Reality

Portugal has Europe's only World Surfing Reserve (Ericeira), the continent's heaviest beach break (Supertubos), Nazaré's world-record wave and an FPS school registry. A practical guide to the spots, lesson pricing, the wetsuit calendar and season logistics for foreign residents.
The Portugal Brief
Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia and the Ordem dos Médicos Demand Infarmed Revoke the 13 April Glucose-Sensor Circular — Generic Prescription Treats Two Medical Devices With Different Age Approvals and Different Apps as Interchangeable

Sociedade Portuguesa de Diabetologia and the Ordem dos Médicos Demand Infarmed Revoke the 13 April Glucose-Sensor Circular — Generic Prescription Treats Two Medical Devices With Different Age Approvals and Different Apps as Interchangeable

SPD president Estevão Pape and Ordem dos Médicos bastonário Carlos Cortes call Infarmed's 13 April circular a 'clinical setback'. The shift from brand-specific to generic prescription treats two CGM sensors as interchangeable — but one is approved age 2+, the other age 18+, and the apps don't talk.
The Portugal Brief
PSD and CDS-PP Pitch a 'Defender Portugal' Civic-Military Programme to Hand 18-23-Year-Olds €439.21 and a Free Driving Licence — A 3-to-6 Week Internato Aimed at the Forças Armadas' 24,500-Active-Personnel Recruitment Crisis

PSD and CDS-PP Pitch a 'Defender Portugal' Civic-Military Programme to Hand 18-23-Year-Olds €439.21 and a Free Driving Licence — A 3-to-6 Week Internato Aimed at the Forças Armadas' 24,500-Active-Personnel Recruitment Crisis

AD's parliamentary resolution would create a voluntary three-to-six-week 'Defender Portugal' programme for 18-23-year-olds — €439.21 stipend (50% of basic-instruction first-tier pay), free driving licence in military establishments. Aimed at Portugal's 24,500-active-personnel recruitment crisis.
The Portugal Brief