Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free.

Subscribe
The Portugal Brief

The Portugal Brief

Justice

Tribunal da Relação Validates Strong Indicators of Corruption Against Pedro Calado, Avelino Farinha and Custódio Correia — Central Hospital Procurement and Team Vespas Rally Sponsorships Anchor the 20 May Reformulated Ruling

The Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa issued a reformulated acórdão on Wednesday 20 May 2026 concluding there are fortes indícios — strong indicators — of active and passive corruption , recebimento indevido de vantagem (improper receipt of advantage),...

Banking

SIBS Pilots a Multibanco Social Network Across Roughly Twenty Juntas de Freguesia in the Cash-Desert Interior — 1,200+ Cashless Parishes and a Seventeen-Kilometre Worst-Case Walk Frame the H1 2026 Rollout With Álvaro Santos Pereira

SIBS is preparing a Multibanco Social pilot that installs cash machines inside roughly twenty juntas de freguesia in the cash-desert interior — the regions where 1,200+ parishes hold no physical cash-out point and where the worst-case walk stretches to seventeen kilometres.

Aviation

Açores Government Opens the SATA Internacional / Azores Airlines Sale With a 75% Minimum-Stake Floor — Caderno de Encargos Locks In 30-Month No-Layoff Cover, São Miguel-Terceira-Lisboa-Porto Routing and a Three-Year AOC

The Açores regional government's caderno de encargos for the SATA Internacional / Azores Airlines reprivatisation opens the private-negotiation phase with a 75% minimum-stake floor, a 30-month bar on collective dismissals, a three-year AOC and an HQ-in-Açores requirement.

Economy

Banco de Portugal Sets Up a National Payment-Resilience Plan With Energy, Telecoms and Retail After the 28 April 2025 Apagão — Relatório dos Sistemas de Pagamentos 2025 Books a 36% Terminal Drop and 80% Restaurant Value Shock on the Day

BdP's 2025 Relatório dos Sistemas de Pagamentos sets up a National Payment-Resilience Plan with energy, telecoms and retail after the 28 April 2025 apagão. Day-of-blackout tape: -36% POS volume and value, restaurants -60%/-80%, ATM withdrawals -34% in volume and -24% in value.