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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

Aerial view of Lisbon's terracotta rooftops with the Tagus River and a cargo ship in the background

Portugal's GDP per Capita Falls to 76.2% of the EU Average Once Its Record Population Is Counted — Eurostat's Preliminary 81% Sheds Four Ranking Places to 22nd of 27

Eurostat pencils Portugal at 81% of the EU average in 2025 GDP per capita. Recalculated against INE's confirmed 11,424,031 residents, that drops to 76.2% — and from 18th to 22nd of 27 member states. More people, the same output, a thinner per-head slice.

The Portugal Brief 23 Jun 2026

Paulo Macedo Calls Time on Politician-Indexed Public-Manager Pay at the ACEGE Lunch-Debate — CGD Chief Frames the Talent-Retention Trap Inside a €6,000 Cap Tied to the Prime Minister's Base Salary

Paulo Macedo Calls Time on Politician-Indexed Public-Manager Pay at the ACEGE Lunch-Debate — CGD Chief Frames the Talent-Retention Trap Inside a €6,000 Cap Tied to the Prime Minister's Base Salary

Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) chief executive Paulo Macedo reopened a long-running governance debate inside the Administração Pública (Public Administration) on Thursday by arguing — at a Lisbon lunch-debate hosted by the Associação Cristã de...

The Portugal Brief 18 Jun 2026

Helena Borges Hands Parliament an Audit of 31 Benefícios Fiscais Covering 77% of Despesa Fiscal — U-TAX Queues ICE and Ten Expiring Incentives Inside the 540-Benefit Universe Holding at 5-7% of GDP Since 2019

Helena Borges Hands Parliament an Audit of 31 Benefícios Fiscais Covering 77% of Despesa Fiscal — U-TAX Queues ICE and Ten Expiring Incentives Inside the 540-Benefit Universe Holding at 5-7% of GDP Since 2019

The Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira (Tax and Customs Authority, AT) closed a longer arc of its post-Brussels tax-expenditure-reform mandate on Thursday as director-general Helena Borges tabled a structured audit of 31 benefícios fiscais (fiscal...

The Portugal Brief 18 Jun 2026

Almina Cuts the Ribbon on a €400 Million Aljustrel Expansion — 6 Million-Tonne Copper-Zinc Mill, €128 Million PRR Anchor and 40,000 MWh Solar Plant Land as Montenegro Promises Mining-Permit Simplification

Almina Cuts the Ribbon on a €400 Million Aljustrel Expansion — 6 Million-Tonne Copper-Zinc Mill, €128 Million PRR Anchor and 40,000 MWh Solar Plant Land as Montenegro Promises Mining-Permit Simplification

Almina inaugurated a €400M expansion at the Aljustrel copper-zinc mine in Beja — €128M PRR-funded — doubling mill capacity to 6 million tonnes a year as PM Montenegro promised legislative simplification of Portugal's mining-permit regime.

The Portugal Brief 17 Jun 2026

Empty Portuguese hospital clinic reception with Piso 1 directional signage to Ascensor, Sanitário and Banco de Sangue

Decreto-Lei 115/2026 Tightens the Médico Tarefeiro Outsourcing Regime From 1 July — 60-Km Internato Catchment, Two-Year SNS Re-Entry Block and 48-Hour No-Show Penalty Frame the €250M Spend

Decreto-Lei n.º 115/2026 — published 16 June, in force 1 July — rebuilds the contracting regime for médicos tarefeiros around a 60-km internato catchment, a two-year SNS re-entry block, a 48-hour no-show penalty cut and a 31 December 2026 transitional deadline for live contracts.

The Portugal Brief 16 Jun 2026

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