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The arched stone entrance of the Maternidade Alfredo da Costa in Lisbon, seen from Rua Pinheiro Chagas, with a sign for the emergency department and paediatric clinic beside the gate.

Portugal Has Deleted 'Obstetric Violence' From Its Own Law, and With It the Fines for Routine Episiotomies

Lei n.º 57/2026, published on Monday and in force today, rewrites the 2025 law and drops the phrase it was famous for. The hospital funding penalties and the disciplinary inquiry go with it, replaced by a discretionary audit and a duty to publish episiotomy and caesarean rates by hospital.

The Portugal Brief 25 Aug 2026

Rows of white motorhomes parked on gravel and grass at a motorhome area beside the marina at Portimao in the Algarve, with the river and port cranes behind

Motorhome and Campervan Rules in Portugal

The law on overnight stops, the 48 hour rule, the coastal ban most people miss, and fines from 30 to 600 euros.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

The Avenida Marginal dual carriageway at Estoril, with palm trees on the central reservation, buses at a stop and the seafront buildings of Cascais beyond

Residents Clocked 220 km/h on the Marginal's 50 km/h Limit, and Their Petition for Radars Has Passed 1,700 Names

A Cascais residents' association wants speed cameras, coordinated policing and fines of €1,000 to €2,000 on the coastal road from Lisbon. Hours before they described the campaign, a car left the EN6 at Praia da Parede and a man of about 50 was found dead on the rocks.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

An SMTUC bus and parked cars on Rua da Sofia in Coimbra's Baixa, under trolleybus wires, with the colonnaded Igreja de Santa Justa building on the right

Coimbra Redraws 26 Bus Lines for a Metrobus That Starts Serving Praça da República on 10 September

The city executive approved the package on Monday by six votes to five. Twenty-six SMTUC lines change route on 10 September, through-traffic is squeezed out of Rua da Sofia, and SMTUC expects about 14 percent of daily passengers to be affected.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

The refurbished courtyard of a Portuguese state secondary school, with terracotta-roofed classroom blocks, a basketball hoop and calcada paving

Portugal Rewrote Its Inclusive-Education Rulebook for January 2027, and Schools Say the Staff to Run It Are Not There

The Council of Ministers approved the revision on 30 July, creating a national inclusion support system, local support teams, a single development plan per pupil and a named manager for each case. Directors report shortages of speech therapists, occupational therapists and psychologists.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

A stage-side view of a seated crowd at the PCP's Festa do Avante, with regional food pavilions and a Sabores do Ribatejo banner visible behind the audience

The Festa do Avante! Reaches Its Fiftieth Year at the Quinta da Atalaia, With Beethoven's Ninth and a Fight Over Labour Law

The PCP's festival runs from 4 to 6 September in Amora, Seixal, built as always by volunteers. Carolina Deslandes, Ney Matogrosso, António Zambujo and Carlão are on the bill, alongside a symphonic Ninth. The chosen theme is opposition to the government's labour package.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

A worker lifting a slab of cork away from the stripped red trunk of a cork oak in a Portuguese montado

Cutting Down a Tree on Your Own Land in Portugal

The authorisation for cork and holm oaks, the bans on olive and holly, classified trees, and the 25 year freeze after an illegal felling.

The Portugal Brief 23 Aug 2026

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