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The Portugal Brief

Sacyr-DST-ACA Become the First Public Bidder for the €5.4 Billion Oiã-Soure High-Speed-Rail Concession — IP's Relaunched Tender Sets a 25 May Deadline After 2024's First Procurement Drew No Valid Offer

Sacyr-DST-ACA Become the First Public Bidder for the €5.4 Billion Oiã-Soure High-Speed-Rail Concession — IP's Relaunched Tender Sets a 25 May Deadline After 2024's First Procurement Drew No Valid Offer

The first publicly named bidder has stepped forward for the second-section concession of the Lisbon-Porto high-speed rail line. The DST president, José Teixeira, told Jornal de Negócios on Sunday night that the consortium of Spain's Sacyr with...

Inside a Loja: 2026 Walkthrough of the Integrated Citizen-Service Hall, the SIGA Booking Platform, the Senha Queue Ticket, and the 70-Plus Sites Where Most Public-Sector Errands Compress Into One Visit

Inside a Loja: 2026 Walkthrough of the Integrated Citizen-Service Hall, the SIGA Booking Platform, the Senha Queue Ticket, and the 70-Plus Sites Where Most Public-Sector Errands Compress Into One Visit

A 2026 expat guide to Portugal's Lojas de Cidadão — the integrated citizen-service centres where Finanças, Segurança Social, IRN, IMT and the utility operators share counters. How to take a senha, book through SIGA, and use the 70-plus locations efficiently.

Portugal Picks 1 January 2027 to Pull the Ultra-Thin Plastic Bags Off the Supermarket Produce Counter — TERRA+ Strategy Routes the Substitution Through APED Without a New Tax

Portugal Picks 1 January 2027 to Pull the Ultra-Thin Plastic Bags Off the Supermarket Produce Counter — TERRA+ Strategy Routes the Substitution Through APED Without a New Tax

The Environment Minister has picked substitution over a tax. Reusable nets and recycled-textile bags replace transparent ultra-light produce bags from 1 January 2027, with the transition run through APED inside the TERRA+ programme.

Parliament's Blackout Inquiry Wants 72 Hours of Backup Power for Hospitals, Pharmacies and Food Retail — and Recommends Lifting the 500-Litre Fuel-Storage Cap to 3,000 Litres

Parliament's Blackout Inquiry Wants 72 Hours of Backup Power for Hospitals, Pharmacies and Food Retail — and Recommends Lifting the 500-Litre Fuel-Storage Cap to 3,000 Litres

PSD rapporteur Paulo Moniz's draft report on the April 2025 Iberian blackout proposes 72-hour backup-power autonomy at hospitals, 24 hours elsewhere, the reclassification of supermarkets and pharmacies as critical infrastructure, and a fuel-storage cap raised from 500 to 3,000 litres.

Monthly Transport Passes in Portugal 2026 — Navegante for Lisbon, Andante for Porto, MOVE-C for Coimbra, Passe Algarve, the €40 Cap, and How Expats Get the Card

Monthly Transport Passes in Portugal 2026 — Navegante for Lisbon, Andante for Porto, MOVE-C for Coimbra, Passe Algarve, the €40 Cap, and How Expats Get the Card

How metropolitan and municipal monthly transport passes work in Portugal in 2026. The €40 metropolitan ceiling, the €30 municipal pass, the free Sub-23 and Lisbon resident scheme, the Citizen Card requirement, where to load each card, and why the price freeze has held for seven years.

IHRU Demands a 12-Month Lease for Porta 65 Jovem — But the Law Says No Such Thing, and Lawyers Tell Público the Institute Is Blocking Eligible Renters Without Legal Basis

IHRU Demands a 12-Month Lease for Porta 65 Jovem — But the Law Says No Such Thing, and Lawyers Tell Público the Institute Is Blocking Eligible Renters Without Legal Basis

The Habitação Institute is rejecting Porta 65 Jovem applicants whose rental contracts do not run a full 12 months from the moment the subsidy starts. The legislation governing the programme imposes no minimum contract length, and jurists are telling Público the requirement has no legal foundation.