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Breaking news and developing stories from across Portugal.

A single-track railway running straight across Alentejo pasture with cattle grazing beside it and the edge of Evora on the horizon, a kilometre post marked 113 in the foreground.

Thieves Are Stripping Catenary and Signalling Off Portugal's €460 Million Évora to Caia Railway, and Certification Is Slipping

Infraestruturas de Portugal began dynamic testing this month, but the Ministry of Infrastructure has told parliament that thefts of catenary, signalling and telecoms equipment are hitting the certification schedule. Accredited certifiers are also scarce.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

Rows of cream and terracotta apartment blocks standing on a wooded hillside on the outskirts of Lisbon, seen from a road below.

Portugal's Median Home Appraisal Climbs to €2,240 a Square Metre, but the Yearly Pace Slows From 16.6 to 15.2 Percent

INE counted 34,053 appraisals in July. Apartments reached €2,627 a square metre and houses €1,606, with the Setubal peninsula up 20.4 percent on the year and no region falling. Grande Lisboa sits 51.7 percent above the national median.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

The yellow facade of the Portuguese Ministry of Finance headquarters on Avenida Infante D. Henrique in Lisbon, with the Portuguese and European Union flags on the central balcony.

The Listing Free Float Falls to 10 Percent and Dual-Class Shares Arrive: Portugal's Securities Code Overhaul Takes Force on 1 September

Decreto-Lei n.o 171/2026 rewrites the Securities Code from 1 September. The free float needed for a listing drops from 25 percent to 10, multiple-vote shares get a disclosure regime, and payment for order flow is banned outright.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

A roofless rammed-earth house standing on a grassy Portuguese hillside, its walls open to the sky and scrub growing along the top.

Reinvest Your Home Sale in a Ruin and the Fisco Says No: the Finance Ministry Backs Two Narrow Readings of the Capital-Gains Relief

Asked by Iniciativa Liberal whether the tax authority is adding requirements the IRS Code never wrote, the Finance Ministry says it is not. A property in ruins cannot be your permanent home on the day you buy it, and a house you also work in is not exclusively housing.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

The flags of the European Union member states flying on a lawn in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union building in Luxembourg.

Portugal Advertises Its Seat on the EU's Highest Court, and the File Has to Be in by 21 September

The Ministry of Justice has opened applications for the post of Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union. An evaluation panel shortlists three, parliament's European Affairs Committee hears them, and the government then picks one.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

The entrance of a Continente Bom Dia supermarket in Portugal, with the red Continente lettering above the doors and a line of trolleys parked outside.

Continente 27.6, Pingo Doce 22.3, Lidl 13.8: Portuguese Households Are Splitting the Weekly Shop Across More Chains

Worldpanel by Numerator's first-half figures put Continente on 27.6 percent, Pingo Doce on 22.3 and Lidl on 13.8, with traditional grocers still ahead of Mercadona. Pingo Doce grew the basket, Lidl grew the visit, and the leader stopped losing.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

Aerial view of the Valorsul waste treatment and energy recovery plant in Lisbon, its curved blue hall and red and white chimney set among rail sidings and shipping containers.

Spain's Urbaser Files to Buy Egeo, Its Fifth Portuguese Waste Deal in Under Three Years

The Blackstone and EQT-backed group notified the Competition Authority on Tuesday of its purchase of Egeo SGPS, everything except Egeo Solventes. Since selling SUMA to Mota-Engil in January 2024 it has bought Carmona, Stericycle Portugal, EcoAmbiente and now Egeo.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

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