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The street frontage of a Portuguese IEFP Centro de Emprego job centre, green signage over the entrance of a white building with calcada paving in front

Portugal's New Single Social Payment Lasts 12 Months, and the Unemployment Subsidy It Absorbs Lasted Up to 24

The CGTP wants the social unemployment subsidy taken back out of the Prestacao Social Unica before it starts paying on 31 December, setting out where duration, value and the crediting of contributions all move against the claimant.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

Two banded bundles of euro banknotes lying on a pale wooden desk, a strap of fifties behind a thicker strap of twenties, serial numbers printed on the paper bands

One Abandoned Suitcase in Porto Held More Fake Euros Than Portugal Seized in All of 2025

More than seven thousand counterfeit 200-euro notes, face value 1,470,000 euros, were left beside recycling bins on Rua do Almada. The 2025 Annual Internal Security Report puts the whole year's euro seizures at 952,725 euros across 19,366 notes.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

The Castelo de Bode reservoir on the Zezere in central Portugal, still blue water between wooded banks with a concrete water intake tower standing mid-channel

Quercus Opposes Renewing the Panasqueira Mine Licence, Citing More Than a Century of Waste Above Lisbon's Water Supply

The public consultation on a revised environmental licence for Portugal's only working tungsten mine closed on Monday. Quercus filed against it, arguing the file cannot support a decision and that the catchment runs down to the reservoir EPAL treats for 2.6 million people.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

A red MAN forest-fire tanker of the Sapadores de Coimbra fire brigade parked inside its station, marked VFCI 08 with the Camara Municipal de Coimbra crest on the cab door

Asked What Each of 2025's Megafires Cost, Civil Protection Could Produce Only One Number for the Whole Year

Parliament's independent commission on the August 2025 wildfires asked what each one cost. The ANEPC could supply only an annual aggregate of about €18.8 million. No cost per fire, per expense type or per operational phase exists, and the command post's finance cell was never activated.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

The pink entrance pavilion and main gate of the Hospital Julio de Matos in Lisbon, Portugal's largest psychiatric hospital, seen from the street with union banners on the railings

Portugal Now Has 598 Approved Mental-Health Residential Places, and the European Money Behind Them Runs Out This Year

The target was 500 places to move people out of psychiatric hospitals. The tender took three years to open, its deadline was extended eight times, and approvals reached 598 at the end of July. Of four inpatient-unit projects in general hospitals, one is finished.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

Cliffs and undeveloped Atlantic coastline inside the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park near Cabo da Roca

A Petition Against Building in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park Grows Sevenfold in a Month and Crosses the Threshold for a Plenary Debate

Finis Terrae is running the drive on two platforms: about 1,000 signatures on Parliament's own portal and 6,920 on Peticao Publica by Saturday evening. Above 7,500, the right-of-petition law sends a petition to the floor of the house.

The Portugal Brief 22 Aug 2026

A row of shared electric scooters parked on Portuguese calcada paving in Lisbon

Coimbra Joins the Portuguese Cities Backing Away From Shared E-Scooters, While the National Rulebook Still Calls Them Bicycles

Braga has banned them, Espinho has ended its scheme and Lisbon faces a referendum push. Coimbra's mayor says the city lacks the safety conditions. Meanwhile the Codigo da Estrada still classifies e-scooters as velocipedes and helmets remain optional.

The Portugal Brief 22 Aug 2026

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