The Portuguese Government has implemented Directive 2003/87/EC, of 13 October on greenhouse gas emissions permits.
According to Decree-Law no. 38/2013 of 15 March, the Portuguese Environment Agency (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente) (APA) will be responsible for granting gratuitous greenhouse gas emissions permit, managing the Portuguese Registry of Emission Permits, which is integrated in the Union Registry and also technical management of the Portuguese Carbon Fund.
The operators of greenhouse gas emitting plants that carry out any of the activities listed in Annex II of the Decree-Law must mandatorily own a greenhouse gas emissions permit (título de emissão de gases com efeito de estufa) (TEGEE). The request for a TEGEE must be submitted with the competent authority responsible for the permitting procedure by filling in a specific form made available by APA on their internet website.
PARVALOREM, the State-owned vehicle that holds part of BPN's former loan portfolio, has issued a public tender for the rendering of servicing and collection services respecting its loan portfolio, which is divided into four independent lots.
Applications to pre-qualification must be submitted by 18 February 2013.
According to the new guidelines, the base amount of the fine is set between 0% and 30% of the turnover related to a breach of competition law, and only when it is not possible to determine that value, will the Competition Authority take into account the undertaking's total turnover.
The new leniency regulation establishes which elements must be submitted to the PCA and enables undertakings to submit an initial application through a marker system and a summary leniency application.
The Portuguese Government approved the terms and conditions applicable to the sale of the share capital of ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal, S.A. (ANA) by private negotiation by Resolution of the Council of Ministers 94-A/2012, where the tender specifications (caderno de encargos) may be found.
Investors selected during the preliminary stage may now have access to the relevant information and carry out the necessary due diligences to submit their binding offers, which are due in mid- December 2012.
The choice of the buyer will be based not only on the price offered but also on the quality of the strategic project.
The IMF has issued the fifth review of the Portuguese Economic Adjustment Program. The report concludes that good progress has been made although the program has now entered a more challenging period.
The Portuguese Government has established the legal framework for the privatization of ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal, S.A. (ANA), holder of the airport management services' concession.
The privatization will occur through the disposal of up to 100% of the share capital by (i) a private negotiation and (ii) a public offer of up to 5% of the share capital, addressed to the ANA's employees.
The collection of bids is now in progress. The criteria for selection of the investors for submission of binding proposals will include the target price and the absence of any legal constraints of the company interested.
The Portuguese Government may subject the future sale of ANA's shares to a lock-up period and before it occurs has the power to suspend and cancel this privatization for reasons of public interest.
The Portuguese Government has established the legal framework for the 3rd and 4th stages of TAP's privatisation. Meanwhile, it has also selected Synergy Aerospace to present a binding offer to buy or subscribe TAP's shares until 7 December.
The 2013 State Budget Proposal (Budget Proposal) confirms most of the fiscal measures already announced, but contemplates some positive measures, such as the VAT cash accounting system and additional tax incentives for the reinvestment of profits.
Following the Government Program and the Memorandum of Understanding and by Decree-Law No. 25/2012 of 6 February, the Government suspended indefinitely the allocation of power injection in Public Service Power Grid for energy produced from special arrangements.
The Portuguese Government and the majority of the Social Partners reached an agreement in areas as economic growth, competitiveness and employment. Among the measures to promote the economic growth, significant changes in the labour law area are included, as follows:
1) Possibility of establishing an individual bank of hours (2 hours per day with a 150 hours limit per year);
2) Extinction of the compensatory rest as result of overtime;
3) Reduction, in 50%, of the amounts to be paid as result of overtime (25% in the first hour, 37,50% in the following hours, and 50% when the work is performed in a mandatory rest day or public holidays);
4) Closure of the establishments/stores in business days between public holidays and the weekend and consideration of those days as holidays;
5) Elimination of the extra annual holidays (3 days) for non-absenteeism;
6) Simplification of the procedures and the grounds to dismiss as a result of the redundancy due to job extinction and by ineptitude;
7) Review of the compensation schemes in the event of the termination of the employment contract by setting a maximum amount and elimination of a minimum amount;
8) Setting up a compensation fund; and
9) Elimination of the obligation to comply with some formalities before the Portuguese Authority for Labour Conditions in connection with work conditions (internal regulations, working hours, agreement of exemption of working hours, among others).
New rules on unemployment benefit will also be implemented, namely the reduction of its maximum value and respective duration, the possibility to accumulate the unemployment benefit with the salary, as well as its enlargement to the independent workers.
Pursuant to the document made available, the majority of the measures agreed will be proposed by the Government to the Portuguese Parliament in order to approve the necessary amendments to the Portuguese Labour Code. It is expectable that the new rules will come into force on the second semester of 2012.