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Breaking news and developing stories from across Portugal.

A bronze statue of Justice before the inscribed stone facade of the Palace of Justice in Porto, Portugal

€23 Billion Sits Frozen in Portugal's Tax Courts, a Sum Worth 8% of the Economy

Some 641 tax cases each worth more than €1m are stuck in Portugal's courts, together totalling €23.16bn — roughly 8% of GDP. The CSTAF blames a shortage of judges, with the bottleneck at the appeal stage holding up significant funds for both companies and the State.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jul 2026

The Palácio de São Bento in Lisbon, seat of Portugal's Assembly of the Republic, with the national flag flying against a blue sky

Portugal's €5.8 Billion in EU Defence Loans Escapes Binding Court of Auditors Scrutiny

Portugal will borrow up to €5.8bn under the EU's SAFE defence-financing scheme, but the Court of Auditors and the Attorney General's Office are not formally required to oversee the spending — their involvement would be informal and discretionary, despite the Defence Minister's public assurances.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jul 2026

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo in flight with landing gear down, showing the airline's red, green and white livery

TAP's Sale Price Climbs to Five Times Its 2015 Level as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Table Binding Offers

A financial valuation circulating as binding offers fall due values the whole of TAP at €1.948bn–€2.073bn, about five times its 2015 privatisation. The 49.9% stake the State is selling would be worth an estimated €972m–€1,034.5m, with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa the two bidders left in the race.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jul 2026

A Portuguese tax office in Albufeira in the Algarve, with two blue 'financas' signs of the Autoridade Tributaria at street level beneath white apartment blocks and a palm tree

The Tax Authority Warns of Fake Emails Telling Freelancers to Issue 'Missing' Green Receipts

Portugal's tax authority (AT) has warned self-employed workers about fake emails, sent in its name, claiming they have 'missing' recibos verdes to issue and pushing them to a malicious link built to steal Portal das Finanças logins. Here is how the scam works and what the AT advises.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jul 2026

CTT's First-Half Profit Falls 41.6% to €12.9 Million Even as Revenue Grows, With a New EU Parcel Fee Looming Over the Second Half

CTT's consolidated net profit fell 41.6% to €12.9 million in the first half of 2026 even as revenue rose 12.9% to €674.3 million. Banco CTT income grew 8.1% and the buyback expanded, but a new EU handling fee on sub-€150 parcels from China now looms over the parcel business.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jul 2026

The two tall towers of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, a Lisbon biomedical research campus, standing beside the Tagus estuary under a blue sky

State-Backed Portugal Ventures Puts €2.1 Million Into 14 Science Start-Ups, Weighted Toward Health and Industry

Portugal Ventures, the venture-capital arm of the state development bank, is investing €2.1 million across 14 early-stage start-ups through its INNOV-ID programme. Seven are in life sciences and five in industry — a deliberate tilt toward Portugal's research strengths in health, biotech and advanced

The Portugal Brief 28 Jul 2026

An Azores Airlines Airbus jet parked on the apron at Ponta Delgada's Joao Paulo II Airport at dusk, with boarding stairs, ground vehicles and passengers alongside

The Azores Offer Their Airport Ground-Handling Arm for Sale, Ringing It With Job and Headquarters Guarantees

The Azores regional government has opened the sale of SATA Handling, the ground-services arm of the islands' airline group. Bidders need five years' experience and must keep the headquarters in the Azores and freeze job cuts for 30 months — a privatisation entirely separate from the TAP sale on the

The Portugal Brief 28 Jul 2026

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