Wednesday, 24 June 2026

Q: What is the EN2?

The EN2 (*Estrada Nacional 2*) is Portugal's longest national road, stretching 739 kilometers from Chaves in the north to Faro in the south. It is a historic route that crosses the country's interior, serving as both a vital regional transport artery and a popular tourist path known as the Portuguese Route 66.

Q: What is the PSU?

The PSU (*Prestação Social Única*) is a proposed single social benefit designed to consolidate various existing welfare payments into one streamlined system. The goal of this reform is to simplify access to support, reduce administrative complexity, and improve work incentives for low-income households.

Q: What is the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation?

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (*Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian*) is a major Portuguese private institution established in 1956 to promote arts, charity, education, and science. It operates as a significant philanthropic organization that funds various social, cultural, and environmental projects both in Portugal and internationally.

Q: What is the Ministério Público?

The *Ministério Público* (Public Prosecution Service) is Portugal's independent state prosecution body, responsible for leading criminal investigations, bringing charges, and representing the public interest in court. The MP operates autonomously from the government and the police, though it directs criminal investigations carried out by the Polícia Judiciária, PSP, and GNR. It is led by the Procurador-Geral da República (Attorney General), who is appointed by the President on the government's proposal. The MP gets involved in high-profile cases including corruption, financial crime, and incidents of potential institutional negligence. It also defends the legality of government actions and protects citizens' fundamental rights through the courts.

Q: What is the Information System of the Portuguese Republic?

The Information System of the Portuguese Republic (*Sistema de Informações da República Portuguesa* or *SIRP*) is the state body responsible for intelligence and national security. It oversees the two main intelligence services: the Strategic Intelligence Service (*Serviço de Informações Estratégicas de Defesa* or *SIED*) and the Security Intelligence Service (*Serviço de Informações de Segurança* or *SIS*).

Q: What is Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR)?

The PRR (*Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência*) is Portugal's national program under the EU's NextGenerationEU recovery fund, worth approximately €22.2 billion — roughly €16.6 billion in grants plus €5.6 billion in loans. Approved in 2021, it funds reforms and investments across housing, digital transition, climate action, healthcare, and public administration. Payments from the European Commission are tied to specific milestones and targets. Missed deadlines or incomplete reforms can delay disbursements, affecting public works, infrastructure projects, and social programs that depend on PRR funding. The PRR is one of the largest investment programs in Portugal's recent history and touches areas from affordable housing construction to hospital modernization, school renovation, and green energy transition. Progress is monitored by the European Commission through regular reviews.

Daily Edition: Published 6:00 AM, 24 Jun 2026

Major wildfire in Loulé forces closure of EN2

📍 Loulé ⚖️ Legal 🚇 Infrastructure#emergency-services+2 more

A significant wildfire in the Besteiros area of Loulé has mobilized over 200 personnel and multiple aerial assets. The emergency response has forced the closure of the National Road (Estrada Nacional or EN) 2 in both directions as crews work to contain the blaze.

Update: Loulé wildfire injures three firefighters

The wildfire continues to burn on two active fronts, with three firefighters sustaining injuries during the response. Two of the injured personnel were transported to Faro Hospital as a precaution, though authorities confirm that the flames no longer pose a direct threat to homes near the village of Ameixial.

The EN2 (Estrada Nacional 2) is Portugal's longest national road, stretching 739 kilometers from Chaves in the north to Faro in the south. It is a historic route that crosses the country's interior, serving as both a vital regional transport artery and a popular tourist path known as the Portuguese Route 66.

9 sources →23 Jun

Major wildfire in Loulé forces closure of EN2

Chega threatens to block new welfare reform

📍 Lisbon 🏛️ Government 🛂 Immigration#government-policy+3 more

The Chega party has threatened to block the government's proposed Single Social Benefit (Prestação Social Única or PSU) welfare reform. Party leader André Ventura stated that his support is conditional on the government restricting access to these benefits for immigrants who have not contributed to the national social security system.

Update: Government and Chega align on residency requirements for benefits

The government and the Chega party have moved closer to an agreement by proposing to increase the minimum legal residency requirement for immigrants to access the PSU from one to two years. While this remains below the five-year threshold originally demanded by André Ventura, the convergence marks a significant shift as the government seeks the abstention of Chega or the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) to pass the reform in Parliament.

The PSU (Prestação Social Única) is a proposed single social benefit designed to consolidate various existing welfare payments into one streamlined system. The goal of this reform is to simplify access to support, reduce administrative complexity, and improve work incentives for low-income households.

André Ventura, born January 15, 1983, is a lawyer, academic, and Portugal's most prominent far-right leader. He founded Chega ("Enough") in 2019 after his PSD mayoral campaign attacked the Romani community. Chega surged from 1.3% in 2019 to 22.8% in May 2025, becoming parliament's second-largest party and making Ventura Leader of the Opposition.

His platform emphasizes immigration restrictions, law-and-order policies, constitutional reform, and contains inflammatory anti-Romani rhetoric that has triggered multiple discrimination convictions and investigations. Politically classified as far-right by international media, Ventura cultivates alliances with European far-right figures including Marine Le Pen and Santiago Abascal.

Health cards are private membership or discount schemes sold by companies that offer access to consultations, tests or reduced fees at private clinics; they are not the public health service. The Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) has proposed regulation to increase transparency and protect consumers from misleading marketing or unexpected charges.

6 sources →23 Jun

Chega threatens to block new welfare reform

Meta services experience global outages in Portugal

🚇 Infrastructure 🏖️ Daily Life#digital-services+1 more

Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook experienced significant service outages in Portugal starting around 10:30 PM on Tuesday. The Downdetector platform recorded thousands of user complaints, with disruptions concentrated in major cities including Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and Évora.

5 sources →23 Jun

Meta services experience global outages in Portugal

Gulbenkian Foundation funds 28 immigrant integration projects

🛂 Immigration 🏖️ Daily Life#integration+2 more

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian) has announced 2.5 million euros in funding for 28 civil society projects aimed at integrating immigrants. The selected initiatives, chosen from 286 applications, will operate over 12 to 18 months with a focus on language learning and community engagement, primarily in the Greater Lisbon and West regions.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian) is a major Portuguese private institution established in 1956 to promote arts, charity, education, and science. It operates as a significant philanthropic organization that funds various social, cultural, and environmental projects both in Portugal and internationally.

1 source →23 Jun

Gulbenkian Foundation funds 28 immigrant integration projects

Over 500 patients stranded in hospitals due to legal delays

🩺 Health ⚖️ Legal#healthcare+1 more

More than 500 patients who have been medically discharged remain in hospitals because of delays in appointing legal representatives for those unable to make their own decisions. The Minister of Health has highlighted the issue in Parliament, noting that the Attorney General's Office (Procuradoria-Geral da República or PGR) has already urged the government to establish a network of professionals to assume responsibility when family members are unavailable.

The Ministério Público (Public Prosecution Service) is Portugal's independent state prosecution body, responsible for leading criminal investigations, bringing charges, and representing the public interest in court.

The MP operates autonomously from the government and the police, though it directs criminal investigations carried out by the Polícia Judiciária, PSP, and GNR. It is led by the Procurador-Geral da República (Attorney General), who is appointed by the President on the government's proposal.

The MP gets involved in high-profile cases including corruption, financial crime, and incidents of potential institutional negligence. It also defends the legality of government actions and protects citizens' fundamental rights through the courts.

1 source →24 Jun

Over 500 patients stranded in hospitals due to legal delays

Left Bloc demands answers on internal security failures

🏛️ Government ⚖️ Legal#public-safety+2 more

The Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda or BE) has requested an urgent, closed-door hearing with the Secretary-General of the Internal Security System (Sistema de Segurança Interna or SSI). The party seeks clarification regarding alleged failures in information sharing and potential risks to political officeholders, following reports that intelligence services were not alerted to specific threats.

The Information System of the Portuguese Republic (Sistema de Informações da República Portuguesa or SIRP) is the state body responsible for intelligence and national security. It oversees the two main intelligence services: the Strategic Intelligence Service (Serviço de Informações Estratégicas de Defesa or SIED) and the Security Intelligence Service (Serviço de Informações de Segurança or SIS).

5 sources →23 Jun

Left Bloc demands answers on internal security failures

Tutti Frutti case heads toward preliminary trial

📍 Lisbon ⚖️ Legal 🏛️ Government#crime-report+2 more

The Public Prosecutor's Office has requested that the president of the Estrela Parish Council, Luís Newton, and other defendants face trial as part of the ongoing Operation Tutti Frutti (Operação Tutti Frutti). The case involves allegations of passive corruption and malfeasance, with a preliminary hearing currently underway at the Monsanto Court in Lisbon.

The Operação Tutti Frutti is a long-running criminal investigation into alleged corruption, influence peddling, and illicit financing within local government and political parties in Lisbon. The case focuses on claims that public contracts and appointments were manipulated to favor specific political interests between 2013 and 2017.

5 sources →23 Jun

Tutti Frutti case heads toward preliminary trial

Health Minister denies blaming immigrants for sector pressures

🩺 Health 🏛️ Government#healthcare+2 more

Minister of Health Ana Paula Martins has clarified that she does not blame immigrants for the current shortage of family doctors in Portugal. While acknowledging that rapid demographic changes have placed pressure on the health sector, she stated that her previous comments were intended to highlight the need for a different approach to managing entry into the country.

3 sources →23 Jun

Health Minister denies blaming immigrants for sector pressures

Lisbon Metro to test earlier opening times

📍 Lisbon 🚇 Infrastructure 🏖️ Daily Life#public-transport+2 more

The Lisbon Metro will launch a pilot project in October to begin daily operations one hour earlier, at 5:30 AM. The initiative aims to address evolving mobility needs, with the potential for permanent adoption of the earlier schedule planned for 2027.

2 sources →23 Jun

Lisbon Metro to test earlier opening times

Health Minister confirms loss of EU recovery funds

🩺 Health 🏛️ Government#healthcare+3 more

Minister of Health Ana Paula Martins has confirmed that several health unit projects will lose funding from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência or PRR) due to missed construction deadlines. While acknowledging the loss, the minister emphasized that the country's health infrastructure development will continue beyond the scope of these specific European funds.

The PRR (Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência) is Portugal's national program under the EU's NextGenerationEU recovery fund, worth approximately €22.2 billion — roughly €16.6 billion in grants plus €5.6 billion in loans. Approved in 2021, it funds reforms and investments across housing, digital transition, climate action, healthcare, and public administration.

Payments from the European Commission are tied to specific milestones and targets. Missed deadlines or incomplete reforms can delay disbursements, affecting public works, infrastructure projects, and social programs that depend on PRR funding.

The PRR is one of the largest investment programs in Portugal's recent history and touches areas from affordable housing construction to hospital modernization, school renovation, and green energy transition. Progress is monitored by the European Commission through regular reviews.

Ana Paula Martins is a Portuguese pharmacist and politician who has served as the Minister of Health in Portugal since April 2024. A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), she was reappointed to the position in the second government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in June 2025.

Professional Background

Pharmaceutical Leadership: She served as the President of the Order of Pharmacists (Bastonária da Ordem dos Farmacêuticos) from 2016 to 2022.

Hospital Management: She was the President of the Board of Directors of Hospital de Santa Maria (CHULN) in Lisbon from December 2022 to January 2024.

Academic Work: She holds a PhD in Clinical Pharmacy and has been an assistant professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon for over 20 years.

Political Career

Government Role: As Minister of Health, she has overseen the implementation of the "SNS Emergency Plan" and recently addressed issues such as INEM staffing and public-private partnerships in healthcare.

Party Leadership: She served as Vice President of the PSD under Rui Rio (2021–2022).

Parliament: She was elected as a member of the Assembly of the Republic representing the Lisbon constituency in 2024.

2 sources →23 Jun

Health Minister confirms loss of EU recovery funds

Labour reform negotiations collapse amid political accusations

🏛️ Government 💶 Finance#chega+2 more

The leader of the Chega party, André Ventura, claims that the Minister of Labour, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, had initially agreed to lower the retirement age for shift workers. Ventura alleges that Prime Minister Luís Montenegro subsequently undermined the minister, leading to the rejection of the government's labour proposal. Business leaders have since called for the current reform package to be scrapped entirely in favor of a new, collaborative approach.

6 sources →22 Jun

Labour reform negotiations collapse amid political accusations

Government warns of fraud using Prime Minister's name

⚖️ Legal 🏛️ Government#public-safety+2 more

The Prime Minister's office has issued an alert regarding a fraudulent scheme using the names of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and his chief of staff, Pedro Perestrelo Pinto. Scammers are contacting individuals via email and WhatsApp to request the completion of a fake confidentiality agreement. The government has confirmed that a formal complaint has been filed with the authorities.

Prime Minister, Portugal: 2024 - Present
Party: Social Democratic Party (PSD)

Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (born February 16, 1973, in Porto) is a Portuguese lawyer and center‑right politician who has served as Prime Minister of Portugal since April 2, 2024. A long‑time member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), he is the leading figure of the post‑Troika generation of Portuguese conservatives. Montenegro was elected to the Assembly of the Republic in 2002 for the Aveiro district and remained an MP for 16 years, becoming PSD parliamentary leader from 2011 to 2017 during the bailout and austerity period under Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. He was a prominent defender of strict austerity measures, arguing in 2014 that “the life of the people is no better, but the life of the country is a lot better,” a phrase that has followed his public image since. After an unsuccessful leadership bid against Rui Rio in 2020, Montenegro won the PSD leadership in 2022. He then forged the centre‑right Democratic Alliance (PSD–CDS‑PP and allies), which won a plurality of seats in the 2024 legislative election. Refusing to partner with the far‑right Chega, which he has called “often xenophobic, racist, populist and excessively demagogic,” he formed a minority government as head of the XXIV Constitutional Government on April 2, 2024. His first government fell in March 2025 after a no‑confidence vote linked to a conflict‑of‑interest affair, but fresh elections saw the Democratic Alliance increase its seat share, allowing Montenegro to return as prime minister leading the XXV Constitutional Government. His importance to Portugal lies in attempting to re‑center the traditional centre‑right after the crisis years, defending liberal‑conservative economics and EU alignment while drawing a sharp line against formal cooperation with the radical right, thus shaping how Portuguese democracy manages its new multi‑party era.

6 sources →22 Jun

Government warns of fraud using Prime Minister's name

Government announces plans for new sovereign wealth fund

🏛️ Government 💶 Finance#investment+2 more

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro has announced the creation of a sovereign wealth fund intended to allow the state to invest in strategic sectors. While the government has presented the fund as part of a broader entrepreneurial agenda, the proposal has faced criticism from some observers who question the lack of specified funding and the state's capacity to generate the necessary revenue.

4 sources →22 Jun

Government announces plans for new sovereign wealth fund

Portugal's population reaches 11.42 million residents

🛂 Immigration 🏛️ Government#demographics+2 more

New data from the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estatística or INE) shows Portugal's total resident population has grown to 11.42 million. Foreign nationals now account for 14 percent of the population, with 1.6 million foreign residents living in the country. This represents an increase of nearly 825,000 residents since 2021, driven largely by immigration.

The INE housing price index (Índice de Preços da Habitação) tracks changes in residential property transaction prices across Portugal, published quarterly by the National Statistics Institute (INE). It covers both new and existing dwellings and breaks data down by region, property type, and buyer nationality.

The index is a key reference for policymakers debating housing affordability measures, for lenders assessing mortgage risk, and for buyers and investors tracking market trends. It has shown sustained price growth since 2015, with particularly sharp increases in Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve driven by international demand, tourism, and housing shortages.

Related INE publications include monthly housing transaction data, rental indices, and construction statistics. Together, they provide the most comprehensive picture of Portugal's property market.

3 sources →22 Jun

Portugal's population reaches 11.42 million residents

Daily Editions

Health Minister confirms EU funding loss as wildfire disruptions impact southern travel routes