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Portugal's Deposit-Return Scheme Passes 100 Million Containers in Three Months as Lisbon City Hall Demands It Be Scrapped

Portugal's Deposit-Return Scheme Passes 100 Million Containers in Three Months as Lisbon City Hall Demands It Be Scrapped

Volta, Portugal's new bottle-and-can deposit system, says it has taken back 100 million containers since April — even as Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas insists the scheme is failing and should be scrapped.

The Portugal Brief 21 Jul 2026

Migration Caseworkers Bring Their Alarm Over Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric to the President

Migration Caseworkers Bring Their Alarm Over Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric to the President

The STM migration technicians' union went to Belém on 20 July to warn President Seguro's office over hate speech and to demand AIMA reinforcements at consulates abroad and a special career track.

The Portugal Brief 21 Jul 2026

The Hospital de Sao Joao in Porto, one of Portugal's four heart-transplant units, with its emergency entrance

Portugal Set All-Time Records for Heart and Lung Transplants in 2025

Portugal performed a record of around 70 heart transplants in 2025 — up from the previous high of 58 in 2024 — and lung transplantation also hit an all-time peak, IPST figures show. The records come from just four cardiac units, but waiting lists stay flat as organ supply, not surgical capacity, rem

The Portugal Brief 20 Jul 2026

The Reitoria da Universidade de Lisboa, the rectory building of the University of Lisbon, Portugal

Education Minister Keeps the University Admissions Calendar but Adds a Special September Exam Round

Minister Fernando Alexandre will keep this summer's higher-education admissions calendar unchanged but add a special exam session in early September for students hit by errors in the national exam results, promising 'no student will be harmed'. A grading fault in the Physics and Chemistry exam and d

The Portugal Brief 20 Jul 2026

Nearly a Third of Portugal's Part-Time Workers Are There Involuntarily, Finance Ministry Bulletin Finds

Nearly a Third of Portugal's Part-Time Workers Are There Involuntarily, Finance Ministry Bulletin Finds

A Finance Ministry bulletin finds that 31.8% of Portugal's part-time workers would take a full-time job if they could, a sign of hidden slack in an otherwise tightening labour market.

The Portugal Brief 20 Jul 2026

Just 5,014 of 18,758 Promised Student Beds Are Finished as University Applications Open and Room Rents Hit New Highs

Just 5,014 of 18,758 Promised Student Beds Are Finished as University Applications Open and Room Rents Hit New Highs

As the national higher-education application round opens with more than 56,000 places, only 27% of the affordable student beds promised under the Recovery Plan are ready, and average room rents have climbed to €500 in Lisbon.

The Portugal Brief 20 Jul 2026

A red Bombeiros Lisboa fire engine on a cobbled Lisbon street

Portugal's Elite Civil-Protection Force Downs Tools for Five Days Over Unpaid Wages

The specialist Força Especial de Proteção Civil begins a five-day national strike this week over unpaid overtime from the 2025 fire season and storm response. The SinFAP union calls it a 'cry of revolt' and demands the Interior Minister clear arrears running to thousands of euros per operative.

The Portugal Brief 20 Jul 2026

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