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As spectrum usage rights are set to expire in 2027, Portugal’s three established mobile operators, MEO, NOS and Vodafone, applied for the renewal of those rights for a further 20 years.

In its draft decision of 29 June 2026, the National Regulatory Authority (“ANACOM”) proposes shorter renewal periods and new coverage obligations. The proposal is not yet final: the public consultation remains open until 9 October 2026.

1. Overview

Cellular mobile networks rely on a wide range of radiofrequencies to provide last-mile access between the network and end users' terminals. As radiofrequencies are part of the public domain, they may only be used under rights granted by ANACOM for limited periods.

Some of the spectrum usage rights currently held by three of Portugal’s four mobile network operators are due to expire in 2027. ANACOM must therefore determine the conditions on which those rights may be renewed.?‌

Since the first spectrum licences were granted in the 1990s, such rights have come up for renewal before. This is, however, the first renewal to take place with four operators in the market.

ANACOM must therefore balance two competing interests. The incumbent operators argue that longer renewal periods are essential to provide investment certainty. The regulator, by contrast, considers that shorter periods would preserve its flexibility to reshape spectrum allocations and impose new obligations as the market develops.

2. The Operators’ Request

Spectrum is a scarce resource shared by multiple users. The rights now under discussion, currently held by the incumbents MEO, NOS and Vodafone, are due to expire in March and November 2027 and account for approximately 31% of all spectrum assigned to cellular communications services[1].

In September 2025, the three operators applied for the renewal of those rights for a period of 20 years or, in NOS’s case, for “at least” 20 years.

3. ANACOM’s Proposal

Under the applicable legal framework, ANACOM must assess whether renewing the existing spectrum rights in favour of the current holders better serves the public interest than other available alternatives.

To that end, the report supporting ANACOM’s draft decision considers five different scenarios, ranging from full renewal for a further 20 years to no renewal at all when the rights expire in 2027.

ANACOM ultimately favoured a middle-ground solution: renewing all existing rights, but for shorter periods than those sought by the operators.

Thus, depending on the frequency band concerned, the renewed rights would expire in 2033, 2041 or 2042.

Under ANACOM’s favoured proposal, all rights due to expire in 2027 would be renewed, with the relevant expiry dates extended to 2033, 2041 or 2042 depending on the frequency band. Certain rights that are not due to expire until 2033 would also be extended so that expiry dates are aligned across frequency bands.

According to its estimates, the spectrum expiring in 2027 has a value of approximately €419 million, while the spectrum expiring in 2033 is worth around €132 million.

Table 1 – Proposed Renewal Terms. Source: ANACOM

4. Shorter Renewal Terms

ANACOM considers that the requested 20-year renewal period is not justified for two reasons. First, a renewal of that duration would significantly constrain future spectrum reallocations and limit the regulator’s ability to respond to market developments, including by imposing new coverage obligations. Second, ANACOM considers that the operators have not shown that a 20-year term is necessary to recover their investments. In support of that conclusion, it notes that deployment cycles for new mobile technologies have historically been considerably shorter, with major technological transitions typically occurring at the beginning of each decade.

Even so, ANACOM acknowledges that renewing the rights for 20 years rather than 15 would increase the value of the spectrum holdings of the three operators by approximately €198 million[2].

ANACOM also rules out the option, suggested by the Portuguese Competition Authority (“AdC”), of not renewing the rights due to expire in 2027, on the grounds that holding a spectrum auction at that stage could jeopardise service continuity. According to the regulator, the renewal periods now proposed would provide operators with sufficient time to adapt should they lose spectrum rights when the next renewal cycle begins in 2033.

5. New Conditions

ANACOM would retain most of the existing conditions, updating the legal references, removing obsolete provisions and adjusting deadlines accordingly. The current coverage obligations, however, would be replaced.

By 31 December 2028, each operator would be required to ensure mobile broadband speeds of at least 100 Mbps for no less than 90% of the resident population in a number of parishes not covered by the coverage obligations of the 5G auction: 757 in the case of MEO, 813 for NOS and 769 for Vodafone.

By 31 December 2029, operators would also be required to provide coverage along additional road and railway corridors, including motorway and railway sections, complementary routes and the main transport networks in the Azores and Madeira.

However, according to ANACOM, the impact of these obligations is expected to be limited, since the existing networks already cover most of those areas and the main issue is available capacity rather than coverage itself.

Renewal of the rights would require payment of a statutory fee, to be set by the Government. The amount remains undetermined because the applicable valuation methodology has not yet been identified, including whether spectrum auction prices will be used as the benchmark.

6. Next Steps

The draft decision is subject both to a prior hearing of the three operators and to public consultation until 9 October 2026. After considering the observations and submissions received, ANACOM may revise the proposal before adopting its final decision and issuing the renewed spectrum usage rights with the applicable conditions.

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Holders of grid capacity access rights (títulos de reserva de capacidade — “TRC”) in the Portuguese electricity grid can now apply to use the flexibility mechanisms enacted by Decree-Law No. 100/2026, of 22 May (“DL 100/2026”). The procedures are set out in Ministerial Order No. 433-A/2026/1, of 21 September (the “Ministerial Order”), in force since 22 September.

The Ministerial Order covers waivers, splits, consolidations, swaps, capacity transfers, changes of technology, hybridisation, partial capacity reductions and changes of connection point, depending on how the TRC was allocated, and sets out the platform, forms, documents and deadlines for each application.

It also reopens the filing deadlines, which under DL 100/2026 had expired before these rules were in place. Most applications can now be filed until 20 November 2026, and waivers with a full refund of the guarantee until 22 October 2026.

Grid operators must also publish up-to-date information on the capacity available and already allocated at each connection point

1. What DL 100/2026 changed

DL 100/2026 made grid capacity rights on the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid (Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público — “RESP”) more flexible after a TRC has been granted, through temporary rules that supplement Decree-Law No. 15/2022 (the main law governing the electricity sector) and apply until 30 June 2027.

Before DL 100/2026, TRC holders could not restructure their projects, move capacity between projects or give up capacity they did not need. DL 100/2026 created nine mechanisms for this purpose:

• Splitting or merging TRCs (split and consolidation);
• Releasing or transferring capacity (waiver, swap and capacity transfer); and
• Changing the project (change of technology, hybridisation, partial capacity reduction and change of connection point).

Which mechanisms a holder can use depends on how its TRC was allocated:

Putting these mechanisms into practice depended on implementing rules, which the Ministerial Order now provides.

2. How to apply

Applications are filed on the online platform of the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (“DGEG”), the Portuguese Government body responsible for energy licensing. Until the platform is available, they can be sent by email to eletricos@dgeg.gov.pt.

Every application must include:

• The applicant’s details and, where applicable, the access code to its online commercial registry certificate (certidão permanente);
• Evidence of powers of representation;
• Details of the TRCs (number, date, capacity, connection point and allocation route); and
• The type of application.

Each mechanism also requires specific supporting documents. For a split, the holder must specify how the capacity will be divided between the new TRCs.

Related applications, such as splitting a TRC and changing the connection point of one of the resulting TRCs, can be combined in a single filing. DGEG takes one decision on the filing but may approve only part of it. Holders cannot file back-up applications that only take effect if another one is refused."

Before deciding, DGEG consults the grid operator. If grid reinforcements or other costs are required, DGEG informs the applicant of the grid operator’s position and its likely decision. The applicant then has 10 days to accept the costs or withdraw the application.

3. A new application window

DL 100/2026 gave TRC holders 60 days to submit their applications, until 22 July 2026, and 30 days to waive their TRC and obtain a full refund of the guarantee, until 22 June 2026. Both deadlines expired before the forms and rules required to submit the applications were available.

The Ministerial Order addresses this issue by restarting the relevant deadlines from the date of its publication or entry into force, as applicable:

4. How applications are processed

When the filing period closes, DGEG sends all complete applications to the grid operators at once. The procedure then runs as follows:

Requests for the waiver of a TRC follow a simpler route: DGEG decides within 30 days, without consulting the grid operator, and reimburses the guarantee within the following 10 days.

5. Capacity transfer

Capacity transfer (cedência) allows the TRC holder to release part of the allocated capacity that it does not intend to use, enabling its reallocation to other applicants with pending grid connection requests. This mechanism is available only to TRCs originally granted through an agreement with the RESP operator, and it is mandatory where the holder applies for the split of a TRC.

The procedure is as follows:

If there is no interest in the capacity, if the capacity is not fully allocated, or if the transferee fails to make the required payment, the capacity will remain with the transferor. The TRC will remain unchanged and continue to be subject to the same conditions, including in respect of guarantees and associated costs. The declaration of availability does not, in itself, affect the TRC.

6. More transparency on grid capacity

Since 2025, DGEG has published a quarterly table of the injection capacity available on the transmission and distribution grids. Grid operators are now legally required to publish and keep up to date on the DGEG platform the following information for each connection point:

• The connection point, substation, voltage level, grid and grid operator;
• The capacity available for new allocation, expressed in MVA; and

The capacity already allocated, distinguishing between capacity in operation and capacity not yet in operation

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Decree-Law no. 134/2026, of 9 July, amended the legal regime governing packaged retail investment products and insurance-based investment products, commonly known as PRIIPs, approved under Annex II of Law no. 35/2018, of 20 July. The new legislation seeks to strengthen the proportionality and efficiency of the supervision of these products.

The main changes include replacing prior approval of advertising with a prior notification regime, excluding certain collective investment undertakings from this regime, and allowing the notification period for the key information document to be extended.

1. Main changes

A. Prior notification of advertising

Under the previous regime, advertising messages relating to PRIIPs were subject to prior approval by the authority responsible for supervising the products being advertised.

Decree-Law no. 134/2026, of 9 July, replaced that approval requirement with a prior notification regime. These messages must now be notified in advance to the competent authority, which has 10 business days from receipt of the duly instructed notification to raise an objection.

The notification must be accompanied by the following elements:

• The advertising message;
• The material elements relating to the media that will be used for its dissemination;
• The key information document for the PRIIP being advertised.

If no objection is raised within the legal deadline, the advertising may be disseminated without the need for an express approval decision.

It should be noted that the competent authority's failure to object does not amount to a definitive approval of the advertising, nor does it prevent subsequent intervention. Indeed, the supervisory authority may exercise its legal powers whenever subsequent facts arise, or prior facts become known, that were not taken into account when the notification was assessed and that can affect the advertising's compliance with legal requirements.

B. Exclusion of certain collective investment undertakings

The new prior notification regime for PRIIPs does not apply to Collective Investment Undertakings ("CIUs") that qualify as non-complex financial instruments under Article 314-D of the Portuguese Securities Code and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565.

This exclusion seeks to align the intensity of prior supervision with the degree of complexity and risk of the products and concentrates on the authorities' early-stage intervention on products that place greater demands on retail investors' understanding and assessment.

Consequently, it will be necessary to verify, on a case-by-case basis, whether the CIU meets the legal and regulatory requirements to be considered a non-complex financial instrument.

C. Notification of the key information document

Making PRIIPs available in Portugal continues to depend on the prior notification of the relevant key information document to the competent authority.

As a rule, the notification must be made at least two business days before the product's intended availability date. However, the new legislation allows the competent authority to set, by regulation, a longer period, which may not exceed five business days.

The same regime applies where changes are made to the key information document. The new version must therefore be notified at least two business days in advance, without prejudice to any longer regulatory period, up to a maximum of five business days.

Entities that manufacture, distribute or advise on PRIIPs should monitor the regulations issued by the competent authorities, as these may affect the planning of the launch or amendment of these products.

2. Impact of the changes

Replacing prior approval with prior notification represents a significant simplification of the process for disseminating PRIIPs-related advertising.

The new model may reduce administrative burdens and provide greater predictability for the launch of advertising campaigns, since the competent authority now has a defined 10-business-day period within which to object to the advertising.

However, simplifying the procedure does not reduce advertisers' responsibility. The authority's failure to object does not constitute definitive confirmation that the advertising message is lawful. Entities remain obliged to ensure its compliance throughout the entire dissemination period.

In practical terms, manufacturers, distributors, insurers, financial intermediaries and other entities involved in marketing PRIIPs should:

• Review internal procedures for approving and notifying advertising campaigns;
• Factor the 10-business-day period into the planning of marketing activities;
• Ensure that the notification includes all legally required elements;
• Confirm whether the CIUs being advertised can benefit from the exclusion applicable to non-complex financial instruments;
• Monitor any regulations extending the notification period for the key information document;
• Implement mechanisms for monitoring advertising after its dissemination has begun;
• Ensure the immediate cessation of advertising where non-compliance is identified.

While the new regime may make the advertising of retail investment products more agile, its effectiveness will depend on how the competent authorities act and on how they exercise the power to object and the regulatory powers conferred by the legislation.

Only its practical application will make it possible to assess whether the changes achieve an adequate balance between simplifying procedures, supervisory efficiency and the protection of retail investors.

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The Portuguese Government has launched a public consultation on the National Energy Storage Strategy (Estratégia Nacional de Armazenamento de Energia — “ENAE”), which sets out Portugal’s electricity storage capacity targets through to 2040 and identifies the measures required to achieve them.

The ENAE consists of an Action Plan, which sets out the proposed targets and measures, supported by a Technical Study prepared by three Portuguese research institutions: INESC TEC, INESC-ID and IN+.

The targets are 6.9 GW of installed capacity by 2030 and 9.76 GW by 2040, split between pumped hydro storage and batteries — roughly twice the capacity available today.

The public consultation runs until 16 September 2026 on the PARTICIPA portal, where comments may be submitted on both the Action Plan and the Technical Study.

1. Background

The ENAE forms part of a broader package of electricity-sector measures launched by the Portuguese Government in June 2026. These included Decree-Law No. 130/2026, of 29 June, which amended the legal framework of the National Electricity System, and the launch of two public consultations on competitive procedures for the award of grid capacity reservation rights in the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid (Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público — “RESP”): 750 MVA for standalone storage projects and 300 MVA for renewable generation projects with co-located storage.

Decree-Law No. 130/2026 amended the prior control and grid access regimes, and the competitive procedures award capacity reservation titles. Neither, however, sets capacity targets for storage or identifies the regulatory changes required to achieve them. That is where the ENAE comes in.

Installed storage capacity in Portugal currently rests almost entirely on pumped hydro, with battery capacity in operation still residual. Meeting the renewable energy targets in the 2030 National Energy and Climate Plan, together with the need to safeguard security of supply, calls for a substantial increase in the flexibility available to the system. The ENAE seeks to quantify that need and to set a path for meeting it by 2040.

2. Nature and scope of the Strategy

The ENAE sets storage capacity targets, identifies the main technical and regulatory barriers to investment, and outlines the measures the Government intends to pursue. It therefore provides a policy framework for the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (“DGEG”), the Government body responsible for energy licensing, and the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (“ERSE”), Portugal’s independent energy regulator. It also signals to the market how the regulatory framework for storage is expected to evolve.

The ENAE does not itself change the law, create support schemes or allocate grid capacity. Most measures are planned for 2026–2030, often without a detailed timetable, and some remain subject to further assessment. Its impact will therefore depend on the legislation and regulations that follow.

3. Capacity targets

The ENAE sets the following capacity targets:

For pumped hydro, the 3.526 GW figure refers to capacity already in operation. By contrast, the 1.06 GW attributed to batteries is almost entirely capacity under development, with only around 5 MW currently operational. The two technologies also play different roles in the system: batteries are better suited to meeting short-duration flexibility needs, while pumped hydro can shift larger volumes of energy over longer periods.

Alongside large-scale storage, the ENAE provides for measures promoting distributed storage and demand-side flexibility, the latter associated with hydrogen production, electric vehicle charging and heat pumps.

4. Planned measures

The Action Plan is organised into four pillars. The table below summarises the main measures under each of them:

5. Comments

The ENAE identifies the main barriers to the development of energy storage in Portugal. In our view, however, it could have gone further in three areas where developers continue to face significant practical constraints.

Freeing up grid capacity: General access to the RESP has been suspended since 2020, and available injection capacity remains scarce. The ENAE proposes recovering capacity from projects that are not progressing and reallocating it to the market. While useful, this can only release a limited amount of capacity and is unlikely, on its own, to support the storage targets set for 2030 and 2040. The ENAE does not address grid reinforcement or how storage deployment should be coordinated with transmission and distribution network investment. A strategy of this scale would benefit from measures aimed not only at reallocating existing capacity, but also at creating new capacity.

Revenue and system services. The competitive procedures currently under way do not provide for a guaranteed tariff, premium or contract for difference. Storage projects will therefore rely on wholesale market revenues, bilateral contracts and system services. The ENAE identifies the future capacity mechanism as an additional source of revenue, but its design remains to be defined and will require approval under EU State aid rules. New system services are also expected to remain at pilot stage until 2030, with dedicated markets only envisaged for the 2030–2040 period. The result is that, throughout the projects’ start-up phase, remuneration will continue to depend entirely on the market.

Permitting and environmental assessment. The ENAE’s main proposal for faster permitting is to direct projects towards renewable acceleration areas, where environmental impacts can be assessed in advance at strategic level. It does not, however, revisit the thresholds that trigger environmental impact assessment (EIA). Standalone storage is currently subject to EIA above 50 MW and 200 MWh, or above 20 MW and 80 MWh in sensitive areas, while co-located storage follows the thresholds applicable to the associated generation project. This means that the same 50 MW power threshold may apply to a battery project and to a solar plant, despite their very different land footprints and environmental impacts. Reassessing these thresholds for storage could materially shorten permitting timelines and, in our view, would have justified a specific measure in the Action Plan.

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Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1061, amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980, complements the prospectus reform launched under the EU Listing Act, which revised the legal framework governing the European Union capital markets, notably the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the “Prospectus Regulation”).

This Regulation replaces the dual-annex regime with a unified framework, simplifies and standardises the format and order of prospectuses according to the type of security concerned, creates a new category of prospectus for initial public offerings (“EU IPO prospectus”), establishes maximum time limits for the review and approval of prospectuses, and introduces a specific transparency regime for sustainable non-equity securities.

1. Regulatory background

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1061 (“Regulation 2026/1061”)forms part of a broader package of reforms known as the EU Listing Act.

The EU Listing Act is a legislative package adopted in October 2024, comprising Regulation (EU) 2024/2809 and Directives (EU) 2024/2810 and 2024/2811, which introduced wide-ranging amendments to the European Union capital markets framework, notably the Prospectus Regulation, the Market Abuse Regulation, and MiFID II.

Its principal instrument in the field of prospectuses was Regulation (EU) 2024/2809. The purpose of this legislative package was to make EU public capital markets more attractive to companies by facilitating access to financing and enhancing liquidity for already listed issuers.

2. Key Changes

2.1. Merger of wholesale and retail regimes for non-equity securities

Until now, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 provided for separate annexes depending on whether the non-equity security was intended for the wholesale market (i.e. securities with a minimum denomination per unit of at least €100,000, or admitted solely to a regulated market, or a specific segment thereof, to which only qualified investors have access) or for the retail market.

The Regulation 2026/1061 removes this dual-annex approach. Annexes 7 and 14, which have been entirely replaced, now constitute the sole annexes applicable to the registration document and the securities note, respectively.

Within these unified annexes, disclosure items are labelled as “wholesale-specific” where they relate to securities meeting the conditions set out in Article 7(1), second paragraph, points (a) or (b), of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, and as “retail-specific” in all other cases.

2.2. Creation of the “EU IPO Prospectus” category

The Regulation 2026/1061 introduces for the first time the concept of an “EU IPO prospectus”, namely a prospectus drawn up pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 in connection with an initial public offering of a class of shares admitted to trading on a regulated market for the first time.

The creation of this standalone category reflects the important role played by IPOs in EU public markets and justifies the highest degree of standardisation for this type of prospectus.

In practice, an EU IPO prospectus must follow, depending on whether it is prepared as a single document or as separate documents, the sequence prescribed by Article 24(2) or 24(3), respectively.

2.3. New prospectus format

To date, legislation prescribed the information that had to be included in a prospectus without imposing a strict order for its presentation. Under the Regulation 2026/1061, prospectuses based exclusively on the core annexes must now follow a mandatory order, which varies according to the type of security.

The degree of prescriptiveness depends on two variables: whether the prospectus is drawn up as a single document (using Annexes 15 or 16, depending on whether shares or non-equity securities are concerned) or as separate documents (a registration document and a securities note), and whether it relies exclusively on the core annexes (Annexes 1 and 11 for shares and Annexes 7 and 14 for non-equity securities) or also incorporates more specialised annexes designed for securities with particular characteristics.

Single-document prospectuses based solely on the core annexes are subject to the most rigid sequence: table of contents, summary, risk factors and, finally, the remaining information in the exact order set out in Annexes 15 or 16. By contrast, base prospectuses, used for issuance programmes supporting multiple future transactions, remain subject to the most flexible regime.

One rule, however, applies universally: risk factors must always appear before the remaining disclosure, namely immediately after the summary or, where no summary is required, after the table of contents; and, in the case of base prospectuses, after the general description of the offer programme.

2.4. Binding review and approval deadlines

Until now, specific deadlines applied to each individual submission during the approval process, but no overall deadline existed for the approval procedure as a whole. In practice, this allowed approval processes to become prolonged through multiple rounds of comments and revised drafts. This is likely the change introduced by the Regulation 2026/1061 with the greatest practical impact on day-to-day transaction execution.

Accordingly, new Article 45a establishes a maximum overall period of 90 working days (or 100 working days for SMEs) between the initial application and the decision of the competent authority, after which the authority must discontinue its review without approving the prospectus.

The competent authority may establish intermediate deadlines, which may not be shorter than 10 working days, for the issuer to submit revised drafts. Such deadlines may be extended by up to 10 additional working days upon the issuer’s written request. Failure to submit revised drafts within the prescribed period may result in refusal of approval. The overall review period may itself be extended by up to 30 working days upon the issuer’s written request.

Furthermore, following the repeal of Article 40, competent authorities may no longer apply additional scrutiny criteria on investor-protection grounds.

2.5. Other changes – ESG and atypical securities

The Regulation 2026/1061 also introduces two additional adjustments worth noting.

First, pursuant to the new Article 23a, where a non-equity security is marketed as sustainable or linked to ESG objectives, additional disclosures set out in the new Annex 23 must be included.

To avoid duplicative disclosure requirements, this obligation does not apply to European Green Bonds (Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2631), nor to environmentally sustainable bonds and sustainability-linked bonds that follow the voluntary disclosure templates established under that Regulation.

Secondly, the new Article 23b provides that, where securities do not fit neatly within any existing annex, the competent authority may, after consultation with the issuer, determine how the required information should be adapted and incorporated into the prospectus.

3. Practical Impact

As this Regulation has direct effect in all Member States, any prospectus submitted to the CMVM since 16 August 2026 must comply with the new regime.

Issuers should review their internal registration document and securities note templates in light of the new annexes, particularly in the debt capital markets context, where the consolidation of the wholesale and retail regimes will be most significant

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In October 2024, the “Listing Act” was adopted: a European legislative package designed to make the European Union’s capital markets more attractive to companies and, in particular, to facilitate access by small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) to new sources of financing.
Decree-Law no. 171/2026, of 26 August, has now partially transposed and implemented the “Listing Act”, as well as other European legislation, into Portuguese law, introducing amendments to the Portuguese Securities Code (Código dos Valores Mobiliários - “CVM”). In this newsletter, we analyse the main changes introduced by this decree-law.

1. Key changes

1.1. Requirements for the admission of shares to trading

Decree-Law no. 171/2026 has reduced the minimum level of distribution to the public, or free float, required for the admission of shares to trading on a regulated market from 25% to 10%.

The market operator may also accept a percentage below 10% where it considers that the regular functioning of the market is ensured. To that end, it must take into account at least one of the following criteria:

• The number of shares held by the public;
• The number of shareholders; or
• The market value of the shares held by the public.

The requirement of a foreseeable market capitalisation of at least €1,000,000 or, where this cannot be determined, of capital and reserves of an equivalent amount remains unchanged.

1.2. Public offers and prospectuses

Using the discretion granted by the Prospectus Regulation, as amended by the “Listing Act”, Portugal raises from €8,000,000 to €12,000,000 the threshold below which publication of a prospectus is not required.

This threshold is calculated per issuer or offeror, taking into account the aggregate value of the securities offered in the European Union over a period of 12 months. The change aims to reduce the costs associated with smaller offers and to facilitate recourse to the capital markets as an alternative to bank financing.

1.3. SME growth markets

It is now possible to register as an SME growth market not only a multilateral trading facility, but also a specific segment of that facility.

This allows market operators to create specialised SME segments without having to subject the entire multilateral trading facility to the regime applicable to SME growth markets. The change is intended to reduce the burden associated with organising these markets and to increase the visibility of SMEs to investors.

1.4. Investment research

The previous market capitalisation threshold of €1,000 million, which restricted the possibility of bundling payments for order execution services and investment research, has been removed.

Financial intermediaries now have greater flexibility to pay for these services jointly or separately, provided that requirements relating to transparency, client information, management of conflicts of interest and assessment of research quality are met.

The concept of “issuer-sponsored research” is also introduced, meaning investment research paid for, in whole or in part, by the issuer and prepared in accordance with the applicable EU code of conduct.

Such research must state clearly, on its first page, that it has been prepared in accordance with that code. Material paid for by the issuer that does not meet the relevant requirements is classified as a marketing communication.

1.5. Multiple-vote shares

In implementation of Directive (EU) 2024/2810, the transparency obligations applicable to companies issuing multiple-vote shares are strengthened. Information on these shares must be included in the prospectus or admission document and, where changes occur, in the annual management report.

The information disclosed must include the different classes of shares and the rights attached to them, the percentage of share capital they represent and the total number of votes attached, any restrictions on the transfer of shares or on voting rights, and the identity of holders of multiple-vote shares representing more than 5% of the voting rights.

Operators of regulated markets or multilateral trading facilities may not prevent the admission of these shares to trading and must ensure that they are clearly identified.

1.6. Best execution

Decree-Law no. 171/2026 strengthens information duties in the execution of orders: material changes to order execution arrangements – and not only changes to the execution policy – must now be communicated to the client before they are applied.

In implementation of Regulation (EU) 2024/791, which amends the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”), the CVM now cross-refers to the ban on receiving payment for order flow laid down in Article 39a of MiFIR.

Accordingly, financial intermediaries acting on behalf of clients may not receive any fee, commission or non-monetary benefit from third parties for executing client orders or routing them to a particular execution venue.

1.7. European single access point

Decree-Law no. 171/2026 partially transposes Directive (EU) 2023/2864, which establishes the European Single Access Point (“ESAP”), a platform that will provide centralised access to financial and sustainability-related information on entities and their products.

Issuers within scope must now submit their management report and consolidated management report to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (“CMVM”) at the time of publication, so that they can be made available on ESAP. To that end, they must obtain a Legal Entity Identifier (“LEI”) and submit the information in a data-extractable format, accompanied by certain metadata.

These obligations apply in phases: the rules on the management report and the LEI have applied since 10 July 2026, with further application dates up to 10 January 2030.

1.8. Squeeze-out

In line with Directive 2004/25/EC on takeover bids, the squeeze-out right following a general takeover bid now requires the bidder to hold, cumulatively, at least 90% of the voting rights and 90% of the share capital of the offeree company.

A bidder that reaches or exceeds these thresholds by the time the results of the offer are determined may, within the following three months, acquire the remaining shares for cash consideration.

1.9. Other changes

Decree-Law no. 171/2026 also carries out a cross-cutting review of the CVM, aimed at regulatory simplification and greater legal certainty. Notable changes include:

• The removal of the requirement to renew the suspension of trading in financial instruments every 10 days, the suspension now lasting only for as long as strictly necessary to remedy the situation that gave rise to it; and
• The exemption from sending periodic statements for book-entry securities issued by entities in liquidation or insolvency, unless there have been changes since the last statement or the holder requests one.

2. Entry into force and practical impact

Decree-Law no. 171/2026 entered into force on 1 September 2026, although certain provisions take effect on specific dates between 10 July 2026 and 10 January 2030.

The measures now adopted aim to diversify companies’ sources of financing, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, to promote cross-border investment, to make financial markets more attractive to investors and savers, and to enhance the competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy of the EU economy, including the financing of the green and digital transitions

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The use of Employers of Record (EORs) has grown significantly in recent years and has become an increasingly common solution for multinational companies seeking to hire employees in different countries without having to establish a local entity. Under these arrangements, the Employer of Record formally enters into the employment agreement with the employee and assumes the employment, tax and social security obligations associated with employer status, while the employee works exclusively for another company, usually based in a different jurisdiction.

The growing use of this structure reflects the internationalisation of businesses, the expansion of remote work and the need to recruit talent on a global scale. However, the operational simplicity associated with Employer of Record arrangements does not eliminate the legal challenges they raise. On the contrary, as these structures become more widespread, questions concerning the allocation of responsibilities between the entities involved and how these arrangements fit within Portuguese employment law become increasingly relevant.

Until recently, the legal challenges associated with the use of Employers of Record were largely discussed in the abstract. More recently, however, the debate has moved beyond theory and begun to reach the Portuguese courts.

A decision by the Porto Labour Court last July was widely reported in the media after the Court found the dismissal of an employee hired through an international Employer of Record arrangement to be unlawful. According to publicly available information, the employee had entered into an indefinite-term employment agreement with Deel Portugal but worked exclusively for a US technology company. The dismissal was based on the alleged redundancy of the employee’s position.

As the full reasoning of the judgment is not publicly known, definitive conclusions as to the legal grounds underlying the decision should be avoided. Nevertheless, the case is particularly relevant as it shows that Employer of Record arrangements are beginning to come under judicial scrutiny in Portugal and brings to the forefront some of the questions that these structures inevitably raise.

First, it is important to bear in mind that the use of an Employer of Record does not, in itself, constitute a distinct legal arrangement expressly provided for under the Portuguese Labour Code. Rather, it is a contractual structure designed to facilitate international hiring, under which a local entity formally assumes the position of employer while another company benefits from the employee’s work.

Although Portuguese law recognises situations in which the entity benefiting from an employee’s work is not the formal employer – as occurs in temporary agency work or outsourcing arrangements – Employer of Record structures have specific characteristics that do not fit neatly within any of these traditional legal frameworks. There is currently no specific legal framework governing this type of arrangement in Portugal, which raises a number of employment law questions for which Portuguese legislation does not yet provide clear answers.

It is precisely this separation between the formal employer and the company that actually benefits from the employee’s work that gives rise to some of the most significant legal challenges associated with Employer of Record arrangements.

Who actually exercises direction and control over the employee? Who sets the employee’s objectives, assesses performance or decides on promotion? In the event of a business reorganisation, who actually determines that a particular position should be eliminated: the Employer of Record or the company benefiting from the employee’s work? And could this contractual structure affect the legal requirements applicable under Portuguese employment law to the termination of employment?

The questions do not, however, end with identifying the entity that effectively exercises the employer’s powers. The structure of Employer of Record arrangements also raises questions as to the enforceability of contractual provisions intended to protect the interests of the client company - such as confidentiality, intellectual property, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses - as well as the allocation of liability between the different entities involved when employment disputes arise.

The answer to the fundamental question should be clear: the mere use of an Employer of Record arrangement does not, in itself, displace the mandatory provisions of Portuguese employment law or reduce the degree of judicial scrutiny applicable to employment decisions. On the contrary, all indications are that the courts will continue to focus on the substance of the employment relationship, seeking to identify who effectively directs, organises and controls the employee’s work.

This becomes particularly important in the context of business reorganisations and termination of employment. The increasing internationalisation of businesses does not remove the need to properly substantiate dismissal decisions, nor does it allow responsibilities to be diluted or fragmented through increasingly sophisticated contractual structures.

One conclusion nevertheless seems clear: Employer of Record arrangements are no longer raising purely theoretical questions and are now beginning to come under scrutiny before the Portuguese courts. The number of disputes involving these contractual structures is likely to increase in the coming years, requiring companies, employees and courts to address questions that the Portuguese legislature has not yet expressly regulated.

Hiring has become global. Employment law responsibilities, however, still require local, transparent and legally robust answers. The future of Employer of Record arrangements in Portugal will largely depend on achieving the right balance between organisational flexibility and employee protection.

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The first half of 2026 was marked by a number of legislative and regulatory developments affecting Portugal's renewable energy sector. Among these, Decree-Law No. 130/2026 stands out for introducing significant amendments to Decree-Law No. 15/2022, including the creation of Renewable Energy Acceleration Areas (Zonas de Aceleração de Energias Renováveis – ZAER), streamlining of permitting procedures, and revisions to the legal framework governing self-consumption, energy communities and grid access, while further aligning Portuguese legislation with RED III and the revised EU Electricity Market Design.

The first half of 2026 also saw a number of legislative and regulatory initiatives aimed at fostering the deployment of electricity storage. These included new licensing procedures, technical requirements for grid connection and operation, and the publication of the draft rules for Portugal's first competitive auctions for electricity storage projects. Together, these measures start to pave the way for the allocation of grid capacity to large-scale battery storage projects.

Set out below is an overview of the main legislative and regulatory developments adopted in Portugal between January and June 2026 that are of particular relevance to the renewable energy sector.

1. National Legislation

Ordinance No. 15/2026/1 (09.01.2026)

Regulates the exceptional procedure for the allocation of grid connection capacity to electricity consumption installations in high-demand zones, as provided for in Decree-Law no. 80/2023.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of January 12^th

Order No. 1135/2026 (02.02.2026)

Recognizes the mainland territory covered by the Public Electricity Service Network (Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público - “RESP”) as a High-Demand Zone (Zona de Grande Procura - “ZGP”) and sets the opening of the exceptional procedure.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of February 2^nd.

Order No. 1532-B/2026 (06.02.2026)

Sets out the planning of the Sectoral Programme for Renewable Energy Acceleration Zones (Programa Setorial das Zonas de Aceleração da Implantação de Energias Renováveis – “PSZAER”).

Decree-Law No. 58/2026 (20.02.2026)

Establishes the Agency for Geology and Energy, I.P (Agência de Geologia e Energia, I.P.  - “AGE”) replacing the Portuguese Directorate of Energy and Geology (Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia – "DGEG") and consolidating the competences of several public entities to streamline coordination and create a single licensing interlocutor.

Order No. 4411-A/2026 (02.04.2026)

Establishes the conditions for the full exemption from the charges corresponding to energy policy, sustainability and general economic interest costs levied on public electricity service network access tariffs, applicable to individual or collective self-consumption projects and renewable energy communities that obtain the conditions to carry out their activity between 2026 and 2029.

Decree-Law No. 94/2026 (30.04.2026)

Amends Decree-Law No. 62/2020, governing the organisation, operation and legal framework of the National Gas System, and partially transposes Directives (EU) 2024/1788 and (EU) 2023/1791 on common rules for the internal markets for renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, and on energy efficiency.

Ordinance No. 218/2026/1 (12.05.2026)

Approves the provisional statues of the Agency for Geology and Energy, I.P..

Ordinance No. 226/2026/1 (20.05.2026)

Establishes the procedure for excise duty (ISP) exemptions applicable to certified advanced biofuels and renewable gases.

Decree-Law No. 100/2026 (22.05.2026)

Establishes a complementary framework to Portuguese National Electricity System, regulating the dynamic management of grid connection capacity titles on the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of June 25^th.

Law No. 29/2026 (23.06.2026)

Establishes the legal framework governing renewable energy use agreement and provides for the tacit approval in the licensing of renewable self-consumption generation units.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of June 23^rd.

Order No. 7909/2026 (24.06.2026)

Launches the preparation of Portugal's Green Industrial Strategy, defining its objectives, governance framework, key content and implementation timetable to support industrial decarbonisation and competitiveness.

Decree-Law No. 130/2026 (29.06.2026)

Amends the legal framework governing the Portuguese National Electricity System, introducing Renewable Acceleration Areas (Zonas de Aceleração de Energias Renováveis – ZAER), streamlined permitting, and updated rules on self-consumption, energy sharing and grid access.

Ordinance No. 281-A/2026/1 (29.06.2026)

Establishes the regulatory framework for the Recovery and Resilience Plan funded support scheme for the production of renewable hydrogen and other renewable gases, setting out eligibility criteria, funding conditions and application procedures for grant beneficiaries.

2. DGEG rulings

Notice No. 16-A/2026 (03.02.2026)

Opening of a public consultation for the submission of expressions of interest for the allocation of grid connection capacity to the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid in a High-Demand Zone (Zonas de Grande Procura - “ZGP”).

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of February 4^th.

3. ERSE rulings

Regulation No. 8/2026 (06.01.2026)

Amends the Electricity Self-Consumption Regulation and related sector regulations to implement the new electric mobility framework, enabling self-consumption for eligible EV charging points and introducing rules on internal metering and data management.

Directive No. 1/2026 (27.03.2026)

Establishes the methodology and compensation for the transfer of unused electricity grid connection capacity in high-demand areas.

Directive No. 2/2026 (15.04.2026)

Extends to mainland Portugal the framework governing the transfer of unused electricity grid connection capacity in high-demand areas, including the applicable compensation methodology.

4. Public consultations

Notice No. 14136-B/2026/2 (08.06.2026)

Opens the public consultation on the proposed Sectoral Programme for Renewable Energy Acceleration Areas (Programa Setorial das Zonas de Aceleração da Implantação de Energias Renováveis – “PSZAER”) and its accompanying environmental reports.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of June 24^th.

Draft Order (18.06.2026)

Establishes new procedures for obtaining prior control titles for electricity storage facilities, consolidating the licensing framework for standalone and co-located storage projects and repealing Order No. 1859/2025.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of June 18^th.

Draft Order (26.06.2026)

Establishes the general technical conditions and requirements for connecting electricity storage facilities to the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid, including frequency response, grid-forming and synthetic inertia requirements.

Tender Documents for standalone storage and co-located storage (29.06.2026)

Portuguese Government has launched a public consultation on the tender rules for the country's first electricity storage capacity auctions, covering 750 MVA of standalone storage and 300 MVA of co-located storage.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our legal update of July 3^rd.

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The Portuguese Government, through the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (“DGEG”), has launched a public consultation on the tender programme and specifications for two competitive procedures to award reservation of injection capacity into the Portuguese Public Electricity Grid (Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público - “RESP”), for electricity storage projects.

There are two separate tenders for:

• Standalone storage installations, with 750 MVA of capacity to be auctioned; and
• Renewable power plants with co-located storage, with 300 MVA of capacity to be auctioned.

The documents set out the rules that will govern the future auctions — capacities, locations, guarantees, the bidding model, development milestones and the consequences of default — with the auction expected to launch on 14 September 2026.

The public consultation runs from 29 June to 20 July 2026, on the PARTICIPA portal.

1. Background

These tenders follow the National Energy Storage Strategy and Decree-Law No. 130/2026, of 29 June, which — transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1711 and part of the RED III Directive — revised the framework of the National Electricity System, in order to accelerate the development of large-scale energy storage projects and to strengthen the flexibility, resilience and renewable-integration capacity of the Portuguese electricity system.

2. Summary of the two auctions

The table below summarises how the two auctions:

3. Locations and capacity per connection point

All connection points are located on the 400 kV National Transmission Grid (RNT).

The figures per location below show the injection capacity available at each grid point — not the amount to be awarded. The total to be awarded at the auction is capped at 750 MVA (standalone) and 300 MVA (co-located). 

Connection costs are borne entirely by the title-holder.

Injection of electricity into the grid is subject to congestion-related curtailment of up to 750 equivalent hours/year (standalone) or 1,100 equivalent hours/year (co-located), and the grid operator may require shared connections at certain points.

4. The auction procedure

Winning bidders are selected through an electronic auction run by the DGEG. The auction is operated on an electronic platform managed by OMIP (the Portuguese end MIBEL market operator)

 5. Guarantees

Both auctions require two guarantees in favour of the DGEG, provided by deposit, bank guarantee or surety insurance:

• Provisional guarantee: €500,000 per bid (€10,000/MVA × 50 MVA minimum), valid for 6 months. It is returned if no capacity is awarded, on exclusion, or once the definitive guarantee is provided. It is called if the winning bidder fails to provide the definitive guarantee.
• Definitive guarantee: €10,000/MVA of capacity definitively awarded, valid for 50 months, provided within 10 business days of the award notice. It is released once operation begins.

6. Payment scheme and revenues

At the auction, bidders compete on what each is willing to pay for the injection-capacity reservation title granting the right to inject electricity into RESP (Título de Reserva de Capacidade - “TRC”).

The award value is a one-off amount (€/MVA × MVA awarded), paid in a single instalment within 15 business days of the award notice.

The developer’s revenue comes from participating in the market, entering into bilateral contracts and providing flexibility services; there are no guaranteed tariffs, premiums or contracts for difference.

The financial flows of the procedure are as follows:

7. Development milestones and obligations

The development milestones run from the issue of the TRC and are identical for both auctions:

8. Key points

9. How to take part

The public consultation runs until 20 July 2026 on the PARTICIPA portal, in the form of comments on the tender documents for each procedure.

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Law no. 29/2026 of 23 June establishes a framework for the new Renewable Energy Use Agreements (Contratos de Aproveitamento Energético Renovável – “CAER”), establishes deemed approval for the licensing of self-consumption generation units (Unidades de Produção para Autoconsumo – “UPACs”), and a comparison platform for aggregator offers.

The main purpose of this new legislation is to streamline licensing procedures for renewable self-consumption projects in Portugal and to facilitate their deployment in condominium settings. It enters into force on 1 July 2026, applying also to all pending proceedings at the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (Direção Geral de Energia e Geologia – “DGEG”).

1. Purpose of the CAER

A CAER allows a property owner to grant a developer the right to use the property's renewable energy potential—including undeveloped urban land, areas not designated for agricultural, livestock or forestry purposes, and rooftops or roof terraces—for the installation and operation of a UPAC.

It is primarily intended for cases where the generation unit is owned by a developer or investor rather than by the self-consumer. In such cases, the property owner who consumes the electricity is not the owner of the UPAC, but instead, a third party is responsible for investing in, installing and operating the generation facility. The CAER regulates this relationship, covering both the installation and equipment and the commercial arrangements governing the self-consumed, stored or grid-injected electricity.

The scope of the regime is, however, limited. It applies only to UPACs with an installed capacity of up to 1 MW, meaning that, in practice, the CAER framework is confined to residential self-consumption projects and small- to medium-scale commercial and industrial self-consumption installations.

2. Requirements applicable to CAER

Companies wishing to offer CAERs must notify the DGEG before commencing activities and may begin operating immediately once the notification has been verified for compliance. The DGEG maintains a public register of developers and must issue a certificate confirming the commencement of activities within five working days.

CAERs must be executed in writing, and a copy must be provided to the property owner within 30 days. They may have a maximum term of 15 years, renewable once for an additional period of equal duration.

At a minimum, CAERs must address:

• Contract duration, renewal and termination;
• Allocation of installation, operation and maintenance costs;
• Sharing of revenues derived from the sale of generated or stored electricity; and
• Ownership of the equipment upon termination of the agreement.

Before entering into a CAER, the developer must provide clear information regarding its identity, the characteristics and expected output of the installation, applicable tariffs and other amounts payable by or to the consumer, maintenance services, and the grounds for termination of the agreement.

The Portuguese Government must approve, within six months, a ministerial order establishing a standard CAER template.  

3. Faster licensing: Deemed Approval

The new law simplifies the licensing process for self-consumption projects. Both the production licence and the operating licence must now be issued within a maximum period of 90 days, instead of the general one-year deadline, failing which they are deemed granted.

In practice, if the DGEG does not issue a decision within the applicable deadline, the relevant licence is automatically deemed granted without the need for any express administrative act.

4. The last-resort aggregator’s purchase obligation

Consumers with solar panels or other generation facilities may sell surplus electricity that they do not consume. This is generally done through an aggregator, a company that purchases electricity from multiple producers and resells it on the market. For producers that have not entered into an agreement with an aggregator, a supplier of last resort aggregator acts as the default purchaser.

Under the new law:

• The supplier of last resort aggregator must automatically purchase electricity from producers that do not have an agreement with another aggregator, eliminating the previous requirement to enter into such an agreement within four months;
• The purchase price for that electricity will be set by the Government through a ministerial order; and

Participation is straightforward and requires only the submission of a form through the supplier of last resort aggregator's website.

5. More information for consumers

The Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE) currently provides a free online comparison tool that allows consumers to compare electricity market offers. Until now, the tool included only offers from electricity suppliers.

Under the new law, the platform will also include offers from aggregators—that is, entities purchasing electricity from producers—including the supplier of last resort aggregator, and will display an updated list of all registered aggregators.

The comparison tool will also become available to a wider range of users. In addition to household consumers and micro-enterprises (with annual consumption of up to 100,000 kWh), it may now be used by self-consumers with generation facilities that inject less than 725 MWh per year into the grid.

6. Self-consumption in condominiums

Law no. 29/2026 also amends the Portuguese Civil Code to facilitate the installation of UPACs in condominium buildings.

Where a building comprises at least two autonomous units, the installation of equipment and operation of renewable energy UPACs may now be approved by a simple majority of condominium owners, rather than the two-thirds majority generally required for building improvements

7. Entry into force

Law no. 29/2026 enters into force on 1 July 2026 and applies to all procedures pending before the DGEG, without prejudice to any acts already carried out.