Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit, where he confirmed that Portugal has met the alliance's 2% defense investment target. The government emphasized that this spending increase was achieved without compromising national public accounts. Officials stated that the summit serves as a platform to reaffirm alliance unity and the strategic importance of the Atlantic region.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação or MECI) has postponed the release of national exam results and the start of the second phase following widespread technical failures. The transition to a fully digital grading system for over 300,000 exams led to missing response sheets and platform accessibility issues for teachers. Unions and educators have criticized the implementation, citing logistical chaos and concerns over the integrity of the assessment process.

Update: Exam grading platform faces further downtime

Teachers have been notified that the digital grading platform will be unavailable again this Wednesday for maintenance. This follows previous outages earlier in the week, leading to continued criticism from the Missão Escola Pública movement regarding the government's ability to manage the assessment process.

A new international study, the STADA Health Report 2026, reveals that only 44% of Portuguese respondents feel they have control over managing their own health, the lowest among 20 countries surveyed. While the average across other nations reached 78%, Portugal fell significantly behind, with researchers identifying financial comfort as a primary factor in health autonomy. The findings suggest that personal health management is closely linked to economic stability.

The artificial intelligence company Anthropic is facing a class action lawsuit in Portugal filed by the Citizens’ Voice – Consumer Defence Association. The legal action stems from the company's alleged failure to provide an electronic complaints book (Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico), a mandatory requirement for businesses operating within the national territory.

A special audit by the Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) across nine major banks revealed 72 deficiencies in how mortgage loan prices are calculated. The supervisor, led by Governor Mário Centeno, noted these errors occurred even as average spreads have reached historic lows. The audit covered institutions representing over 70% of the national mortgage market.

Inspections conducted by the Tax and Customs Authority (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira or AT) identified 642 million euros in unpaid taxes among large taxpayers, marking a 6.64% increase from the previous year. The corrections primarily focused on Value Added Tax (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado or IVA) and Corporate Income Tax (Imposto sobre o Rendimento das Pessoas Colectivas or IRC). These findings were detailed in the latest report on combating tax fraud and evasion.

The insurer Bupa Portugal has launched an optional coverage plan that reimburses 50% of costs for prostheses and orthoses, up to an annual limit of 2,000 euros. The plan includes a specific 250-euro cap for optical aids like prescription glasses, as well as coverage for hearing aids, wheelchairs, and recovery items for oncology patients. Nuno Lopes de Almeida, director of Bupa Portugal, stated the initiative aims to improve client autonomy and comfort.

The death toll from the double earthquake that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 3,342, with 16,740 people reported injured. Among the victims, at least 95 are Portuguese citizens or people of Portuguese descent, while 58 others remain missing or unreachable.

The Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency (Agência de Gestão da Tesouraria e da Dívida Pública or IGCP) has launched the new Series 5 Treasury Certificates while suspending subscriptions for the previous Treasury Savings Value Certificates. While these new products offer competitive rates, consumer protection groups note that some bank deposits currently provide better returns for larger savings amounts.

Starting July 19, the entire Algarve rail line will operate with electric trains. The national rail operator, CP - Comboios de Portugal, is using the transition to overhaul its commercial schedule, which will increase service frequency, eliminate the need for transfers, and reduce travel times.