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Candlestick stock-market chart on a dark trading screen, illustrating Portugal's tougher market-abuse sanctions

Cabinet Hardens Insider-Trading Penalties, Barring Repeat-Offender Finance Directors From the Sector for Up to 12 Years

Portugal's Council of Ministers approved a Securities Code overhaul on 25 June 2026, letting regulators bar repeat-offending administrators from the financial sector for 10 to 12 years over insider trading and market manipulation, while realigning the tax-haven list to the EU's.

The Portugal Brief 25 Jun 2026

Construction workers in orange high-visibility vests and hard hats on a concrete slab with steel reinforcement bars at a building site

Portugal Loosens Its Public-Procurement Rules, Raising Direct-Award Ceilings and Scrapping the Mandatory Execution-Project Review

After the 25 June Council of Ministers, the government approved a sweeping overhaul of the Public Procurement Code: higher direct-award limits, up to €150,000 for public works, the end of the mandatory execution-project review, and a shift from formal controls to 'trust with accountability'.

The Portugal Brief 25 Jun 2026

Aerial view of Lisbon rooftops and the Tagus river, illustrating the IMF's annual assessment of Portugal's economy

IMF Cuts Portugal's 2026 Growth Outlook to 1.7% but Projects a Balanced Budget Into 2027

In its 24 June Article IV report, the IMF trimmed Portugal's 2026 growth to 1.7% yet now sees a balanced budget through 2027, with public debt sliding to 85.6% of GDP. The trade-off: a slower engine, a sturdier fiscal position and a familiar reform list.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

Empty hospital ward with rows of beds, illustrating Portugal's new Eastern Lisbon Hospital project

Court of Auditors Fires Back at the Government Over the Lisbon Oriental Hospital, Saying It Cleared the €800 Million Contract in 27 Working Days

The Tribunal de Contas rejected the government's claim that its review delayed and inflated the new Eastern Lisbon Hospital, saying it approved the €800 million public-private contract in just 27 working days.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

A large modern open-plan technology office with rows of people working at laptops

The Government Bets on In-House Digital Twins and the Sovereign ‘Amália’ AI to Modernise the State, Backed by an €80 Million Training Plan

Portugal is building digital twins of public systems in-house and readying its sovereign Portuguese-language AI model, Amália, for July, backed by an €80 million plan to train civil servants — part of a drive to modernise the state without depending on foreign tech.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

Aerial view of Lisbon’s rooftops with the Tagus River and a cargo ship in the distance

Portugal’s First-Quarter Deficit Lands at 1.1% of GDP, Beating the UTAO’s 2.1% Forecast

Portugal ran a general government deficit of 1.1% of GDP (€570.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, according to INE — better than the 2.1% the parliamentary budget office had forecast, as income-tax and social-contribution revenue held up.

The Portugal Brief 24 Jun 2026

The Portuguese Parliament, the Palacio de Sao Bento in Lisbon, a neoclassical facade with columns and the Portuguese flag flying above

PSD and CDS Move to Double the Residency Bar for Non-EU Newcomers to Two Years for the New Single Social Benefit — PS Brands the Amendment an 'Approximation to Chega' as the Far Right Holds Out for Five

Governing partners PSD and CDS have filed amendments raising the minimum legal residency for non-EU/EEA nationals to claim the Prestação Social Única from one year to two. PS calls it an 'approximation to Chega', which still wants five. Carve-outs protect children and the disabled.

The Portugal Brief 23 Jun 2026

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