General Daily Briefing: Tuesday, 13 October 2026
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Good morning. Here is your Tuesday briefing for 13 October 2026: the day's essential Portugal stories for residents, immigrants and anyone keeping an eye on the country, below this week's featured guide.
- Justice: the prosecutors' union has told President Seguro the service is short of more than 200 prosecutors and asked for a special training course.
- Industry: work has begun in a Bragança village on Cristiano Ronaldo's mineral water plant, due to start bottling in 2028.
- Crime: the PJ seized 3.7 tonnes of cocaine from a speedboat 80 nautical miles south of Faro, and one suspect died after a collision.
- EU aid: 261.5 million euros for last winter's storms cleared a European Parliament committee, with two votes still to come.
- Housing: Lisbon has resumed its affordable housing draws after three months, while prosecutors examine the platform behind them.
- Health: generic medicine makers want a 5 percent price rise in 2027, and a new patients' group says more competition matters more.
Prosecutors Ask the President for Help
The Sindicato dos Magistrados do Ministério Público met President António José Seguro on Monday and warned of a "functional rupture": the service is short of more than 200 prosecutors, with retirements to come. It wants a special course at the Centre for Judicial Studies reserved for prosecutors. The shortage has already led the Prosecutor-General to assign single prosecutors to several areas at once.
Ronaldo's Water Plant in Gostei
Earthworks are under way in Gostei, near Bragança, on a bottling plant owned half by Cristiano Ronaldo and half by Grupo Outeirinho. The investment is close to 20 million euros, and the plant should operate from early 2028, bottling up to 600 million litres a year for export, with 30 to 35 jobs at first.
Cocaine Seized Off Faro
The PolÃcia Judiciária seized 3,700 kilos of cocaine from a high-speed boat stopped on Sunday after a chase about 80 nautical miles south of Faro. One suspect died of injuries after the boats collided, and two foreign men were arrested. Italy's Guardia di Finanza and the Portuguese Navy took part in the "Mare Nostrum" operation.
EU Storm Aid Moves Forward
The European Parliament's Committee on Budgets approved 261.5 million euros from the EU Solidarity Fund for the damage caused by the storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta. The Council and the full Parliament must still vote. Portugal has already received an advance of 65.37 million euros, against damage put at more than five billion.
Lisbon's Housing Draws Restart
Lisbon City Council drew 25 affordable homes for under-35s on Monday, its first draw since 19 June. Prosecutors have opened a monitoring file on the Habitar Lisboa draw platform after an anonymous complaint and a Deloitte audit that found gaps in its IT controls. It is not a criminal inquiry.
The Price of Generic Medicines
The generics industry body Equalmed wants off-patent medicine prices raised by at least 5 percent in 2027, blaming thin margins for shortages and withdrawn products. The new users' association UMG replied that more competition and supply should come first, noting that generics are 52 percent of the Portuguese market, against 70 percent in Europe.
Also published since yesterday's briefing
- Police Dismantle Porto's Housing Protest Camp at Dawn, and the Campers Summon Parties and Unions to an Assembly on Wednesday Read →
- A Week of Speed Checks Hits Portugal's Roads From Tuesday: the Fines, Licence Points and Driving Bans at Stake Read →
- Portugal's Ombudsman Presses for Mental Health Care in Youth Detention, Child Care Units and Prisons, as a Promised Unit Stays Shut Read →
- LuÃs Neves Removes the Interior Ministry's Top Civil Servant After a Clash Over Who Supervises the SIRESP Emergency Network Read →
- Douro Line Trains Halt Between Marco de Canaveses and Régua From 3 November, With Buses Running Until Late March Read →
- Portugal Stores 334 More Bean and Maize Samples in the Svalbard Seed Vault, Its Fifth Arctic Deposit Read →
- Parish Councils Across Portugal Threaten to Close Every Service on 4 November Over the 2027 Budget Read →
- The 2027 Budget Would Extend IMI and IMT Breaks on Restored Old Buildings to 2031, Along With Tax Relief for Common Land Read →
- The GNR Flagged 43,074 Older People Living Alone or Isolated Last Year, and Guarda District Had the Most Read →
- Notaries Can Issue Apostilles in Portugal From 1 January 2027, Giving Residents a Second Route Beside the Prosecution Service Read →
- Shamonda Cattle Virus Surfaces on Five Portuguese Farms, From Bragança to Beja, as Vets Issue an Alert Read →
- Golegã's Horse Fair, Held Since the 16th Century, Is Now Listed in Portugal's National Intangible Heritage Inventory Read →
- Portugal Drew 186 Foreign Investment Projects in 2025, 5 Percent Fewer Than a Year Before, and Stayed Ninth in Europe as the Continent Fell 7 Percent Read →
