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The Portugal Brief

The Portugal Brief

INE's Q1 2026 Flash Estimate Stops Quarterly Growth at Zero as April Inflation Jumps to 3.4% — Storm Cluster and Iran Conflict Knock 0.2pp Off GDP, Energy Prices Drive Headline CPI Up 0.7pp in a Month

INE's Q1 2026 Flash Estimate Stops Quarterly Growth at Zero as April Inflation Jumps to 3.4% — Storm Cluster and Iran Conflict Knock 0.2pp Off GDP, Energy Prices Drive Headline CPI Up 0.7pp in a Month

Statistics Portugal's flash estimates for Q1 GDP and April CPI, published Thursday, point to a stalling economy and reaccelerating prices. Quarterly growth is zero, year-on-year growth holds at 2.3%, and headline inflation lifts to 3.4% on the back of an 11.7% energy contribution.
The Portugal Brief
Via Verde Foreign-Worker Visa Scheme Crosses 6,080 Requests From 32 Nationalities One Year On — Ministry of the Presidency Posts a 4,042 Approval Tally as Agriculture Captures 66% of the Greenlit Cases Across 38 Consular Posts in 29 Countries

Via Verde Foreign-Worker Visa Scheme Crosses 6,080 Requests From 32 Nationalities One Year On — Ministry of the Presidency Posts a 4,042 Approval Tally as Agriculture Captures 66% of the Greenlit Cases Across 38 Consular Posts in 29 Countries

Ministry of the Presidency tells parliament the Via Verde fast-track work-visa channel has logged 6,080 requests / 4,042 approvals from 32 nationalities through 38 consular posts in 29 countries — agriculture captures 66% of the cleared cases.
The Portugal Brief
Montenegro Stages the First Decentralised Council of Ministers in Beja on Thursday — Government Announces a Monthly Cabinet-on-the-Road Format Around Major Regional Fairs and Sectoral Hubs

Montenegro Stages the First Decentralised Council of Ministers in Beja on Thursday — Government Announces a Monthly Cabinet-on-the-Road Format Around Major Regional Fairs and Sectoral Hubs

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro presides over Thursday's Council of Ministers from the Ovibeja agricultural fair in Beja — the first session of a new monthly decentralised format. The day opens with a Delta Cafés production line in Campo Maior; the Cabinet sits at 14:30 inside the fairgrounds.
The Portugal Brief
Bank of Portugal Governor Álvaro Santos Pereira Disposes of Nestlé and Navigator Shares After ECB Ethics Committee Pulls Him Back Inside the Single Supervisory Mechanism's Stricter Code — Capital Gains Donated to Charity

Bank of Portugal Governor Álvaro Santos Pereira Disposes of Nestlé and Navigator Shares After ECB Ethics Committee Pulls Him Back Inside the Single Supervisory Mechanism's Stricter Code — Capital Gains Donated to Charity

Bank of Portugal governor Álvaro Santos Pereira sold shares in Nestlé, Navigator, Galp and Jerónimo Martins after the ECB Ethics Committee informed him on 1 April that the SSM code bars governors from holding equities of any non-financial issuer. Capital gains were donated to charity.
The Portugal Brief
Parliament Moves to Stop Twenty-Two Competition Authority Cases Worth €800 Million From Going Out the Door on Prescription — Lawyers Warn the Retroactive Fix Will Land at the Constitutional Court

Parliament Moves to Stop Twenty-Two Competition Authority Cases Worth €800 Million From Going Out the Door on Prescription — Lawyers Warn the Retroactive Fix Will Land at the Constitutional Court

Parliament is debating a draft Concorrência amendment that would freeze prescription clocks for 22 ongoing AdC cases — fines totalling roughly €800 million, much on the food-distribution cartel — currently at risk of being annulled by elapsed time. Lawyers warn of retroactivity.
The Portugal Brief
INE's March Unemployment Read Holds at 5.8% as the Labour Underutilisation Rate Slips to 9.8% — Employed Population Reaches 5.07 Million, the Highest March Reading in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey Series

INE's March Unemployment Read Holds at 5.8% as the Labour Underutilisation Rate Slips to 9.8% — Employed Population Reaches 5.07 Million, the Highest March Reading in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey Series

INE's provisional March 2026 release leaves the unemployment rate at 5.8% — flat on February, 0.5pp below March 2025 — while labour underutilisation eases to 9.8%. The employed population sits at 5.07 million, the strongest March reading in the LFS series.
The Portugal Brief