🇵🇹 Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free. Subscribe

The Portugal Brief

Home
Politics
Economy
Guides
About

Sign in Subscribe

Portugal News

General news and current affairs from across Portugal.

A red Mercedes fire appliance lettered BOMBEIROS NAZARÉ on a Portuguese street, ladders on the roof and two more Nazaré appliances parked behind it.

Portugal Budgeted 1.01 Million Euros for Three Months of Volunteer Fire Brigade Fuel, and Two District Federations Say None of It Has Landed

A March decree-law promised 10 cents a litre, converted into 360 euros a heavy appliance. The IMT rules took until 17 July and applications closed on 28 August. On Saturday Setúbal and Vila Real said the money still has not arrived, and diesel goes up again on Monday.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

An adult wild boar standing at the edge of a gravel track, with Mediterranean scrub, pines and a low stone drain beside it.

Portugal Is Preparing to Pay Hunters for Every Wild Boar They Shoot, and Eleven Médio Tejo Councils Have Already Asked to Go First

The agriculture minister says a pilot scheme will compensate hunters per animal culled where the population is excessive. The sum, the rules and the territories are unpublished. The ICNF puts the mainland population near 300,000 and its own plan says the current cull is too small.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

A Galp filling station in the Algarve under a clear blue sky, its yellow canopy over the pumps and a black and yellow Desconto banner strung along the forecourt edge.

Portugal Hands Back 9.76 Cents a Litre of Diesel Tax From Monday, and the Order Doing It Appeared in a Friday Night Gazette Supplement

Protesters marched on the prime minister's house in Espinho over fuel prices on Saturday. The night before, a portaria had already cut the fuel tax again, as it has done every week since 16 March, by exactly the extra VAT the higher price brings in.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

The stone and glass facade of the Hospital da Luz private hospital in Lisbon, photographed from the pavement below against a clear blue sky.

Portugal Passed Four Million Health-Insurance Holders in 2025 at an Average 437 Euros a Year, and 63 Percent of Complaints Ended Against the Customer

The insurance regulator's 2025 scorecard puts the average premium per insured person at 437.21 euros, individual policies at 452.38 and employer schemes at 423.90. It also counted 3,954 closed complaints, most of them about a claim rather than a price.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

Porto City Hall seen down the length of Avenida dos Aliados, its clock tower above a stone facade, with the reflecting pool and magnolia trees of the square in the foreground.

The Inspectorate That Watched Portugal's 308 Councils Was Folded Into the Finance Ministry in 2011, and Its Published Audits Have Gone From 28 a Year to Two

The Socialist Party wants the local-government inspectorate abolished in the 2011 austerity reorganisation brought back. The Inspectorate-General of Finance that took over its work publishes every council report it signs, and that archive is the clearest measure of what the merger cost.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

Red-tiled rooftops of Lisbon's Baixa Pombalina seen from above, looking down Rua Augusta toward the triumphal arch and the Tagus estuary

General Daily Briefing: Saturday, 12 September 2026

Good morning. Here is your Saturday briefing for 12 September 2026: the day's essential Portugal stories for residents, expats and anyone keeping an eye on the country, running from a strike called off at the emergency medical service to a diplomat handed the keys to Portugal's

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

The Portuguese Navy frigate NRP Vasco da Gama, pennant number F330, moored alongside in Tallinn with the Portuguese flag flying from the mast

A Diplomat Takes the Chair of the Body Watching Portugal's 5.8 Billion Euro Defence Loan, With PSD, Chega and PS Given Seats Inside It

Nuno Brito, ambassador to London since 2022, will preside over the commission monitoring defence investment and the European SAFE instrument. A second body audits the money separately.

The Portugal Brief 12 Sep 2026

Subscribe to The Portugal Brief

Don't miss out on the latest news. Sign up now to get access to the library of members-only articles.

Sign up
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Partner with Us
Editorial Standards

The Portugal Brief © 2026. Powered by Ghost

Operated by Thrifty Explorations LLC.

[email protected]