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The Portugal Brief

Porto

News and developments from Porto, Portugal's second city.

Portugal

Portugal Marks 40 Years in the European Union on Saturday 9 May 2026 — Dia da Europa Cerimónia Oficial Lands at the Paços do Concelho do Porto, with Maria Luís Albuquerque, Inês Domingos and Carlos Coelho Leading the 11:00 Sessão Solene

The cerimónia oficial of the Dia da Europa lands at the Paços do Concelho do Porto on Saturday 9 May 2026 for Portugal's 40 years in the EU. Maria Luís Albuquerque, Inês Domingos and Carlos Coelho lead the 11:00 session; the noon flag-raising and the free Aliados concert open the public day.

Portugal

Infraestruturas de Portugal Hands Mota-Engil the €113.5 Million Contumil-Ermesinde Quadruplication on the Linha do Minho — 24% Below the Base Price, Q1 2030 Completion, and the First Concrete Step Toward the Porto-Vigo High-Speed Link

IP awarded Mota-Engil the €113.5M Contumil-Ermesinde quadruplication on the Linha do Minho on 8 May 2026 — 24% below the €150M base price, Q1 2030 completion, ~€40M Portugal 2030 EU cofinancing inside a €226M envelope. First concrete piece of the Porto-Vigo high-speed link.

Porto

Porto's Assembleia Municipal Approves Free Public Transport for the City's 252,687 Residents — €20.5 Million-a-Year Cartão Porto Will Cover the Whole Andante Network From January 2027, With a Pedro Duarte Push to Pull the Start Forward to This Summer

Porto's Assembleia Municipal voted Monday night to make public transport free for the city's 252,687 residents — a €20.5 million-a-year Cartão Porto scheme covering the entire Andante network. Legal start: 1 January 2027. Câmara president Pedro Duarte is pushing for a summer 2026 rollout.

Courts

Ministério Público Charges Lar do Comércio in Matosinhos for the COVID-19 Deaths of 18 Residents — Six Years On, the Pandemic-Era Care-Home Accountability File Finally Reaches the Penal Code

Ministério Público charges Lar do Comércio in Matosinhos and its former leadership with propagation of contagious disease aggravated by the result — 18 deaths and 3 serious-injury counts from the April–May 2020 COVID outbreak that infected 109 of the lar's residents. Indictment filed 31 March 2026.