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1. Introduction

In a year marked by extraordinary political and economic changes, from the changes in US politics to the acceleration of the AI economy, as well as increasing geopolitical conflicts and tensions in the West and the East, Portugal has maintained a steady economic growth, although not impressive, that lead to positive results in the banking sector and Portuguese capital markets.

As Portugal experiences a period of political stability and mild economic growth, with public debt below 100% of GDP and economic growth slightly above 2%, several transactions stand out, such as the sale of Novo Banco, the commencement of construction on Portugal's first high-speed train link between Lisbon and Porto, and the launch of TAP's privatisation process.

On the regulatory front, few changes to bank resolution framework and the regulation of crypto-assets under European and national legislation represented the main developments of 2025, which were unspectacular in comparison with the overhaul of banking regulations that occurred in the last decade.

This report provides an overview of the Portuguese capital markets in 2025, highlighting the main transactions that took place in the year and those that are still unfolding, and reviews the legal and regulatory developments of 2025.

In the last chapter we give our outlook for 2026, as political, economic and military tensions intensify, and questions are raised as to the sustainability of the US stock market valuations, now dominated by the Magnificent Seven, and how this could affect Portugal, its economy and its banking sector.

2. Market overview

2.1. Macroeconomic environment

2.1.1. GDP growth

Portugal’s real GDP growth reached 2.1% in 2024 and is projected to reach 2% in 2025, according to the Bank of Portugal’s December 2025 Economic Bulletin.

GDP growth is supported by the implementation of the «Recovery and Resilience Plan» (Plano de Resiliência e Recuperação, "PRR") (2021-2026, €22,216 million) and easing financial conditions, including lower interest rates, robust domestic demand and expansionary fiscal policies. Other relevant data indicates that private consumption has also risen in 2025 due to higher disposable income availability, allowing families to spend more freely as their take-home pay increases.

2.1.2. Trade balance

Portugal maintains a robust external position, with a 2.1% account surplus in 2024, projected to average 3.0% of GDP in 2025-26 according to the Bank of Portugal. This is driven by EU recovery funds, which bolster banking sector liquidity and cross-border flows.

2.1.3. The labour market

The Portuguese labour market recovered from the COVID 19 pandemicwith unemployment near its historical lows. Companies now face difficulties in hiring and retaining skilled workers.[1]

The recent influx of migrants to Portugal is significant, with 2025 data indicating that foreigners comprise approximately 15% of the population, mostly unskilled workers. Conversely, the domestic population faces workforce misallocation, as many individuals are working in fields unrelated to their qualifications and educational backgrounds, resulting in an inefficient use of qualified workforce.

Another critical issue in the Portuguese labour market is the aging population, where individuals over 65 years of age represent nearly 25% of the total, projected to rise to 34% by 2040.

2.1.4. Public debt

As of October 2025, Portugal's total public debt stood at €238.1 billion, a €13.3 billion increase when compared to the same month of 2024. The country’s debt as a percentage of GDP has been decreasing consistently.

The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 93.6% in 2024, a significantly lower level when compared to 2021, when it represented 137.5% of Portugal’s GDP, as depicted in the graphic below.

Robust tax revenues support this trend, but expenditure growth and aging-related costs, challenge fiscal sustainability, highlighting the need for reforms in pensions, healthcare, and tax simplification.

2.1.5. Housing market

Like many other Western countries, Portugal faces a housing affordability crisis; as prices have far outpaced income growth, buying or renting a home is increasingly difficult for most people, affecting more younger people. [2]

Recent government measures, such as tax incentives, aim to address these gaps, but further reforms are needed. The OECD recommends re-balancing rental regulations to attract more private investmenttempered with "sufficient and well-targeted housing allowances to protect low-income tenants".

Longer term measures must be adopted to increase the housing supply, such as public funded housing projects in the form of public private partnerships or otherwise as well as removing administrative barriers to construction, with improvements in the licensing of projects. The OECD calls for clear rules "allowing landlords to recover costs from upgrading dwellings would also boost energy renovations, especially if combined with financial support to mitigate cost pressures on tenants". [3]

Notwithstanding the ongoing crisis, the Bank of Portugal forecasts a 5.9% rise in residential investment, which is expected to contribute to growth in the bank lending sector.

2.2. Financial markets

2.2.1. Portuguese Stock market

The Euronext Lisbon's benchmark PSI index (formerly PSI?20) closed 2025 with a price gain of approximately 29.5%, ending at 8,263.65 on 31 December 2025, and reached new 16?year highs above 8,500 points in early January 2026.

In total?return terms (including dividends), the PSI advanced about 27.4% in 2025, outperforming several major global benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and STOXX Europe 600, as well as European markets including the DAX (Frankfurt), FTSE 100 (London) and CAC 40 (Paris), while trailing the FTSE MIB (Milan), as well as the IBEX 35 (Madrid), which recorded one of the strongest gains among large European indices at close to 49% in 2025.

The Portuguese stock market is mainly composed of defensive-sector industries such as energy, banking and paper industries. The largest companies on Euronext Lisbon's benchmark PSI index include:

• EDP - Energias de Portugal S.A. (EDP.LS). The index’s largest constituent registered an increase in electricity production in 2025 supported by favourable hydro conditions and its renewable operations. The shares produced a positive double?digit return (around 20%) over the year, with market capitalisation around €16 billion at the end of the year.[4]
• BCP - Banco Comercial Português S.A. (BCP.LS). Benefitting from higher profitability and ongoing balance?sheet strengthening, the share price rose by about 93% in 2025, reaching multi?year highs. Market capitalisation stood in the low?teens billions of euros, around €13.2 billion depending on the specific closing date used.[5]
• Jerónimo Martins SGPS S.A. (JMT.LS). A food retail group with core operations in Portugal and Poland. In 2025 the company posted record revenues of about €36 billion and achieved a share?price gain close to 9%, resulting in a market capitalisation of approximately €12.7 billion by year?end.[6]
• EDP Renováveis S.A. (EDPR.LS). A global wind and solar operator that reached approximately 20.4 GW of installed capacity in 2025. The shares recovered from 2024 lows and posted a high?teen to low?20% gain over the year, with market capitalisation close to €12.6 billion on an end?2025 basis.[7]
• Galp Energia SGPS S.A. (GALP.LS). Supported by a significant increase in Group EBITDA and upgraded production guidance, Galp’s market capitalisation stood slightly below €11 billion at the end of 2025.[8]
• Mota?Engil SGPS S.A. (EGL.LS). An engineering and construction group that reported record EBITDA, with growth around 15% and a substantial international and domestic order backlog. The share price increased by roughly the high?60% range over 2025, with market capitalisation near €1.5 billion at the end of the year.[9]
• Corticeira Amorim SGPS S.A. (COR.LS). A global leader in cork products. The company faced a year of pressure linked to changing alcohol consumption patterns and industrial deleveraging, finishing 2025 with a decline in its share price and a market capitalisation of around €0.9 billion (as of late 2025).[10]
• Altri SGPS S.A. (ALTR.LS). An industrial producer of cellulosic fibres. The company experienced weaker performance in the second half of 2025 amid softer global demand, ending the year with a negative share?price performance and a market capitalisation of approximately €0.9 billion (figure dependent on reference date).[11]

2.2.2. Debt capital markets (DCM) & bond issuances

The 2024–2025 period was characterised by high-profile corporate deleveraging and successful "Green Bond" entries.

(1) Corporate bond highlights

Notable corporate bond issuances in 2025 include:

• Santander Totta (Bank) – March 2025: Issued €400M in Floating Rate Covered Bonds due March 2028 to support mortgage-backed financing.
• CTT (Postal/Logistics) – April 2025: Issued €110M in Senior Unsecured Floating Rate Bonds due in 2031 to support general corporate growth.
• GamaLife (Insurance) – July 2025: Issued €125M in Tier 2 Subordinated Notes due 2035 at a 5.25% rate to optimise solvency capital.
• EDP (Energy) – November 2025: Issued €1,000M in European Green Notes to refinance existing higher-coupon debt.
• Banco CTT (Nov 2025). Priced a €45 million Senior Preferred Debt issuance (3.75% coupon) to meet MREL requirements and support retail credit growth.

(2) Public debt issuances

The following is a list of the main sovereign and regional bond issuances in 2025:

• Autonomous Region of Madeira (Regional) – June 2025: Issued €310M in 15-year Regional Bonds, backed by a central government guarantee, to refinance maturing debt.
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – April 2025: Issued €1,047M via a dual-tranche auction of OT 3.875% 2030 and OT 4.1% 2037 to maintain liquidity in medium-term benchmarks.
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – July 2025: Issued €1,260M in a dual-tranche auction focusing on the long end of the curve (OT 0.3% 2031 and OT 1% 2052).
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – July 2025: Issued €612M in Floating Rate Treasury Bonds (OT FRN) maturing in 2031, a less frequent instrument used to diversify the investor base.
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – September 2025: Issued €1,131M through an auction of OT 3% 2035 and OT 1.15% 2042 to address institutional demand for longer duration.
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – September 2025: Issued €3,500M in 8-year Treasury Bonds (OT 2.875% 2033).
• Republic of Portugal (Sovereign) – September 2025: Issued €1,500M in 30-year Treasury Bonds (OT 2054) via syndication.

2.2.3. Portuguese equity markets dynamics

Despite the recent gains, Portugal’s equity market continues to face important challenges, including a sharp decline in the number of listed companies from a peak of 152 in 1990 to only 48 in 2025. Despite its modest size, the Portuguese equity market attracts yield-focused investors.

Market capitalisation in Portugal represented only 28.8% of GDP in 2024 and is projected to be around 25% to 30% in 2025, which is significantly lower than the European average (65% in 2023). This highlights a clear preference among Portuguese companies, particularly SMEs, for bank debt to the detriment of public markets, a preference which is often attributed to a culture of family control and insufficient scale of Portuguese businesses.

Initial public offerings are rare, with the last significant IPO in the Portuguese market being Greenvolt’s in 2021, subsequently acquired by KKR and delisted. Acquisitions of listed companies with international scale by foreign companies and private equities leading to delistings occur frequently.

2.2.4. Banking sector

During the first nine months of 2025, the five largest Portuguese banks reported aggregate profits of €3.903 billion, reflecting a 0.33% variation from the previous year and sustaining the sector's profitability.

Considering each bank individually, Caixa Geral de Depósitos reported a profit of €1.4 billion, Millennium BCP reported €775.9 million, Santander reported €728.2 million, Novo Banco reported €610.5 million, and BPI reported €389.3 million.

In 2025, the Portuguese banking sector was among the most profitable in Europe. The main Portuguese banks achieved a return on equity of 16%, exceeding the Eurozone average of 9.88% and ranking second in the Eurozone, behind Lithuania.

Non-performing loans declined to 2.3% in comparison to 2.4% in 2024 and 2.7% in 2023, following an earlier declining trend that is the result of stable economic conditions and significant improvements in banks financial governance and risk management practices.

2.2.5. Credit market

After reaching a peak in 2023 at approximately 4%, the 6-Month EURIBOR declined to about 2.63% in 2024 and further to approximately 2.15% by December 2025. The 3-month EURIBOR started the year of 2025 above 2.7%, falling to 2.0% over the year.

For 2026, the Bank of Portugal forecasts an additional decline, with the 3-month EURIBOR stabilizing at around 2% fuelling the 9.8% increase in housing loans in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Credit granted to companies and individuals has also increased. According to a November report from the Bank of Portugal, credit granted to companies has risen by 4.3% in annual terms, while consumer credit granted to individuals has risen by 7.9%.

2.2.6. Non-Financial Sector companies’ debt

In 2025, the debt of non?financial private companies in Portugal reached €308 billion, representing an increase from the €299 billion low of 2023. This €308 billion represents the highest nominal level recorded in the 2016-2025 period.

According to statistics published by the Bank of Portugal, the stock of private corporate debt expanded at an annual rate of around 2.5% through the third quarter of 2025, based on total credit to resident non?financial corporations (loans and debt securities, domestic and external). This increase was supported both by lending from resident financial institutions and by external financing.

Despite the higher outstanding amounts across the system, the aggregate NPL ratio for banks in Portugal remained low, standing at about 2.3% in Q3?2025 (system?wide) albeit slightly.

3. Main events

3.1. Sale of Novo Banco

One of the most notable events of the year 2025 was the sale of Novo Banco, the fourth largest Portuguese bank, owned by the American fund Lone Star and the Portuguese Resolution Fund, the banking resilience fund created to support ailing banks.

Founded in 2014 following the resolution of Banco Espírito Santo ("BES"), Novo Banco currently manages a retail network comprising 290 branches and serves 1.7 million customers, to whom it provides services such as deposits, loans, insurance, among others.

Since its foundation, the bank has shown remarkable progress, having transformed into a highly profitable entity. In 2024, the bank recorded:

• €42.4 billion in total assets.
• €37.3 billion in liabilities.
• EBITDA of €200 million.
• Net profit of €744.6 million.

After indicating a stock market listing through an initial public offering of approximately 25% to 30% of the capital, Lone Star opted for a direct sale of Novo Banco to the French group BPCE for 6.4 billion euros, announced in June 2025, with completion expected in 2026.

With a small presence in Portugal through Banco Primus, Oney, and Natixis, BPCE is presently the second largest banking group in France and one of the top ten European groups, with plans to expand outside France.

The distribution of the sale proceeds will be as follows:

• Lone Star: €4.8 billion.
• State + Resolution Fund: €1.6 billion.

Lone Star Funds will obtain a significant financial return from the sale. The Portuguese State, which, together with the Resolution Fund, owns the remaining 25%, despite a partial recovery of funds, will record a net loss of approximately 6 billion euros.

This transaction represents the largest cross-border operation in the Eurozone over the last 10 years and represents a growth opportunity for BPCE, given that Novo Banco holds a market share of 9% in individual customers and 14% in businesses.

3.2. Privatisation of TAP

In August, the Portuguese Government approved the first phase of the privatisation of TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, S.A. ("TAP"), Portugal’s flag carrier, with the publication of Decree-Law 92/2025 and the approval of the tender documents.

Decree-Law 92/2025, the Government has authorised the sale of up to 49.9% of TAP’s share capital, with the State retaining at least 50.1%.

The minority stake will be split between a strategic investor (or a consortium of investors), who will acquire up to 44.9%, and up and the TAP Group employees, who will have the option to acquire up to 5%. If the employees do not acquire the full 5%, the remaining shares will be sold to the selected investor.

The primary objectives of TAP's reprivatisation include maximising the recovery of public funds invested in TAP, enhancing the airline’s brand and market position, and ensuring connectivity to key destinations, particularly those with historical, cultural, and social ties to Portugal.

Potential investors must satisfy certain participation requirements, including fit and proper status, financial capacity, certified air operator status, size, and such other conditions established in the tender documents (caderno de encargos).

The sale process will include the following stages:

• Expression of interest: interested parties must submit their expression of interest within the timeframe specified in the tender documents.
• Screening: the Government will assess whether the interested parties meet the participation requirements.
• Non-binding proposals: interested parties will submit indicative (non-binding) offers, after which selected bidders may be invited to submit binding proposals.
• Binding proposals: selected bidders will submit binding offers, following which the contract will be awarded or the bidders may be invited to a negotiation phase (if applicable).
• Negotiation: the Government will negotiate with the selected bidders, who will be asked to submit their best and final binding offers.

The sale process is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2026, with the pre-qualification phase already concluded, determining that all interested parties (Air France-KLM, IAG, and Lufthansa) meet the requirements to proceed to the second phase, which began on January 2 and sets April 2, 2026, as the deadline for the submission of non-binding proposals.

The evaluation criteria for the proposals prioritised the industrial plan, fleet growth, the development of national airport infrastructure, investment in sustainable fuels, and the financial amount injected into the company, with central issues being the maintenance of the hub in Lisbon and the national identity of TAP.

The sale agreement grants the private investor management of the company, which will, however, be subject to a state veto right on strategic matters, ensured through a shareholders' agreement. Furthermore, the specifications document, approved in September, stipulates reciprocal pre-emption rights in the future sale of stakes in TAP, as well as a tag along right for the investor in the event of the sale of the State's stakes to a third party.

Despite the potential advantages of the private management model with predominantly public capital, significant risks arise, such as the need to establish mechanisms to safeguard the investor's return in case they intend to make significant investments.

In addition to this, the risk of nationalisation of losses and political interference in management persists, which generates conflicts of interest, as observed in cases like Portugal Telecom, potentially requiring compensations or put options for private investors.

3.3. The new Lisbon airport

After extensive discussions regarding possible locations for the new Lisbon airport, the Government requested ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to plan and develop a new airport in Alcochete, intended to replace the current Humberto Delgado Airport.

The choice of Alcochete was based on a study conducted by an independent technical committee, which valued its proximity to the capital and the ease of connection to transport networks. The assignment of the project to ANA aligns with the concession contract, entered into in 2012, which assigns the concessionaire the responsibility for building a new airport, a condition that was essential for its privatisation and acquisition by VINCI, a French infrastructure company.

ANA submitted an initial report in December 2024, with financial and technical projections, followed by amendments submitted in July 2025. The proposal includes the construction of two runways, with the option to expand to four, and an installed capacity for 45 million passengers, ten million more than the capacity of the current infrastructure.

Although the initial cost was estimated at 8.5 billion euros, higher than the initial projections of the technical committee, the amendments submitted in July aim to optimise this amount by reducing the length of the runways (from 4,000 meters to a length equal to or greater than 3,500 meters), decreasing the distance between them, and adapting to specificities related to low-cost airlines.

It is estimated that the construction period will last six years, with the start of works following the obtaining of licenses and agreements, and operations are expected to begin in mid-2037, with the possibility of an earlier start by the end of 2036.

Regarding the financial model, the proposal excludes direct contributions from the State, relying on a gradual increase in airport fees between 2026 and 2030, indexed to inflation, and on the extension of the 30-year concession contract by an additional 30 years, until 2092.

In parallel, to safeguard the viability of the project, the Council of Ministers recently approved measures to limit urban interventions in the area of the future airport. The objective is to prevent cost increases in the expropriation process and to ensure that the chosen territory does not undergo changes that could jeopardised the project.

Regarding the next steps, ANA is expected to submit an environmental report by the end of January, and the detailed construction proposal from ANA should be completed within a period of 36 months from January 2025. The Government clarified, however, that while the new airport is not built, there will continue to be significant investments in the modernisation of the current airport, including an ongoing investment of 320 million euros for the modernisation and expansion of the boarding terminals.

3.4. Sale of Secil by Semapa

Semapa, a Portuguese investment holding company, announced in December 2025 an agreement for the sale of the entire capital of Secil, one of the leading Portuguese companies in the cement sector, to the Spanish company Cementos Molins for a value of 1.4 billion euros.

The transaction, which includes the cement company with an annual production capacity of approximately 10 million tons of cement, and which operates eight factories across four continents, represents one of the largest transactions in the Portuguese industrial sector in recent years.

The announcement of the transaction, which, according to analysts, was carried out at an implied multiple of 7.5 times EBITDA, triggered a sharp rise in the shares of the Portuguese holding company, which soared to their highest levels since 2018. The operation is also significant in that, with this sale to the Spanish group, the highly concentrated Portuguese cement market will now be predominantly controlled by international groups:

• Cimpor: responsible for approximately 58% to 60% of the market share, owned by the Asian group Taiwan Cement Corporation;
• Secil: responsible for over 35% of the market share, owned by the Spanish group Cementos Molins;
• Other producers: responsible for a residual market share, still controlled by national companies.

Despite the control of the company passing to the Spanish group, the expectation is that, according to the announcement by the CEO of Molins, the 2,900 workers currently employed by Secil will continue to be part of the company's structure.

3.5. High-Speed train Lisbon-Porto

The high-speed line will connect the two most important metropolitan areas of the country, Lisbon and Porto. This project, one of the largest to take place in the country during this century, alongside the construction of the new Lisbon airport, will be built in phases. The first phase includes the sections from Porto to Oiã and from Oiã to Soure, with completion of the works expected in the early years of the next decade.

3.5.1. Porto-Oiã section

On July 29, 2025, the concession contract for the construction and maintenance of the first section (Porto-Oiã) of the high-speed railway line connecting Lisbon and Porto, the two most important cities in the country, in approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes, was signed. This contract is part of the first phase of the project, has a term of 30 years, and construction is expected to take place between 2026 and 2030.

The concession was awarded to the company Avan Norte – Gestão da Ferrovia de Alta Velocidade, established by the LusoLAV consortium, with the European Investment Bank having contracted a financing of 875 million euros with the company for the construction of the first section.

This financing constitutes the first tranche of a total package of 3 billion euros approved in 2024 to fund the implementation of the entire infrastructure, making this financing the largest contract signed under the European Union's InvestEU program.

Although the start of the works is scheduled for January 2026, in December 2025, the Portuguese Environment Agency ("APA") rejected the project, as proposed changes, according to the agency, deviate from the preliminary study that served as the basis for issuing the environmental impact statement. In this regard, the start of construction will be delayed by at least 72 days.

3.5.2. Oiã-Soure Section

In December 2025, the relaunch of the tender for the concession of the high-speed line section connecting Oiã to Soure was announced, which constitutes the second and final segment of phase 1 of the project.

The relaunch of the tender follows the termination of the tender procedure launched in July 2024 due to the absence of valid proposals. The relaunch of the tender includes an extension of the works 11 kilometres shorter than presented in the previous tender, but maintains the price, with the construction of this section expected to take place between 2027 and 2032.

4. Main legal and regulatory developments

4.1. Overview

The main legislative developments in the Portuguese financial sector in 2025 included (i) amendments to the banking resolution regime through Decree-Law 14/2025, of 17 March 2025 ("2025 RGIC Amendment"), (ii) a new framework for the assignment and management of banking credits, and (iii) the designation of the national competent authorities with supervisory duties and sanctioning powers in relation to crypto-assets.

4.2. Amendments to the credit institutions and financial companies law

The main 2025 RGIC Amendment introduced changes to the Portuguese Banking Law (Regime Geral das Instituições de Crédito e Sociedades Financeiras, originally established by Decree-Law 298/92, of 31 December 1992 ("RGIC"):

• aligning the Portuguese bank resolution framework with Regulation (EU) 2020/2223 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 December 2020, Regulation (EU) 2022/2036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 and Directive (EU) 2024/1174 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 amending the Bank Resolution Directive ("BRRD Amendment"), and
• authorising the Bank of Portugal to disclose information contained in databases, subject to banking secrecy, to the European Anti-Fraud Office ("OLAF"), in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 883/2013.

The 2025 RGIC Amendment changes to the banking resolution regime include a new definition of "liquidation entities" (i.e. entities that are expected to be wound up under a resolution plan) exempting them from complying with the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities ("MREL").

As a safeguard against insufficient internal loss-absorbing capacity, the 2025 RGIC Amendment allows the Bank of Portugal to impose a minimum amount of own funds and eligible liabilities exceeding the amount necessary to absorb losses, which the entity must meet through one or more of the following elements:

• own funds;
• claims that meet the eligibility criteria; and
• claims arising from debt instruments.

The 2025 RGIC Amendment further allows the Bank of Portugal to apply the own funds requirement on a consolidated basis to a "subsidiary" — and no longer solely to the parent company — if certain conditions are met, namely that the subsidiary is directly owned by the resolution entity. In this case, and for the purpose of complying with the requirement, the 2025 RGIC Amendment recognises the eligibility of claims issued or contracted in favour of the resolution entity belonging to the same resolution group and subscribed by it, as well as the claims issued or contracted in favour of shareholders of the entity in question who do not belong to the same resolution group.

4.3. New rules on the assignement of banking credits

Decree-Law 103/2025, of 11 September 2025, approved a new Legal Framework of the Assignment and Management of Banking Credits (Regime da Cessão e Gestão de Créditos Bancários, "RCGCB"), setting out the requirements on credit purchasers and credit servicers, and updates the regulatory framework of the Central Credit Registrar ("CRC").

Among the main innovations, the RCGCB establishes the possibility of assigning credits to other entities other than those already authorised for this purpose in respect of credit agreements that (i) have loans with instalments overdue for more than 90 days, or (ii) have been classified as unlikely to be repaid, within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 575/2013 of 26 June 2013, for at least 12 months, where the debtor is a small, medium-sized, or large enterprise.

Regarding companies, the RCGCB clarifies that the assignment does not depend on the debtor's consent, but requires prior notice to produce effects, ensuring that the debtor is duly informed of the assignment.

Another relevant aspect is the obligation for assignees to contract an authorised entity to manage the credits, unless the assignee itself is an authorised entity.

With regard to the protection of debtors, credit servicers are subject to several obligations, namely the duty to provide clear and timely information to debtors, to comply with fair conduct standards, and to respect professional secrecy, equivalent to banking secrecy. Likewise, the assignee becomes bound by the same legal obligations as the assigning institution, particularly with regard to consumer protection legislation. Thus, the contractual terms and the rights of debtors, such as early repayment or renegotiation of terms, remain unchanged, regardless of who holds the credit.

Regarding supervision and the sanctioning regime, the Bank of Portugal now has the authority to oversee and supervise, issue determinations, carry out inspections, and impose sanctions in case of non-compliance. Such sanctions may range from substantial fines to measures such as the revocation of authorisations or the disqualification from performing certain functions. This sanctioning framework applies to institutions, assignees, and credit servicers who fail to comply with the established rules.

Lastly, Decree-Law 103/2025 also introduces a new regime applicable to the CRC, managed by the Bank of Portugal. Among other changes, it is noteworthy that the entities participating in the CRC will now include, in addition to those currently defined, credit servicers, who will thus be required to regularly report information on credit liabilities, including financial and risk data.

4.4. Mica regulation

Following the approval, in 2024, MiCA, which regulates the European crypto-asset market, the European Commission published a set of Delegated Regulations that complement MiCA in 2025, introducing rules on complaint management, advisory supervisory colleges, business continuity plans, and reporting obligations, among other matters.

The MiCA regulation establishes requirements for the public offering and admission to trading of crypto-assets, as well as obligations for service providers, including the need for authorisation by a competent authority.

The delegated regulations approved in 2025 include:

• Delegated Regulation 2025/292 that establishes a template for cooperation agreements between the EU competent authorities and supervisory authorities of third countries. The objective of this regulation is to promote the exchange of information and strengthen the oversight of the crypto-asset market.
• Delegated Regulation 2025/293 and Delegated Regulation 2025/294 establishing standardised complaint handling procedures for issuers of asset-referenced crypto-assets (Regulation 2025/293) and for crypto-asset service providers (Regulation 2025/294).
• Delegated Regulation 2025/296, which establishes more detailed rules for the approval process of white papers, ensuring a complete and efficient assessment of crypto-assets, while Delegated Regulation 2025/297 establishes the conditions for the creation and operation of advisory supervisory colleges, established, managed, and chaired by the European Banking Authority ("EBA") for each large-scale cryptocurrency.
• Delegated Regulation 2025/297, which establishes the conditions for the creation and operation of advisory supervisory colleges, established, managed, and chaired by the EBA for each large-scale cryptocurrency.
• Delegated Regulation 2025/298 specifying the methodology for estimating the quarterly average number and the daily average aggregate value of crypto-asset transactions.
• Delegated Regulation 2025/299 imposing on crypto-asset service providers the obligation create and test business continuity plans annually. These plans must enable the provider to respond to incidents and resume their services.
• Delegated Regulation 2025/303 and Delegated Regulation 2025/304, which contain a set of information that must be provided to the competent authorities by entities wishing to provide crypto-asset services, as well as the respective notification procedure.

These new regulations bring significant changes to the crypto-asset market, ensuring greater transparency and security in digital asset operations. Credit institutions and crypto-asset service providers must pay close attention to this set of new rules, which now regulate the digital assets market in detail.

These regulations came into force in Portugal in March 2025, with a transitional regime of 18 months, for entities already registered with the Bank of Portugal under previous legislation, which will be able to continue their operations until July 1, 2026, or until authorisation is granted or denied under the terms of Article 63 of the MiCA Regulation.

New operators will require an authorisation, which, at the time of the issuance of these regulations, was not possible due to the absence of a designated competent authority. The Bank of Portugal has clarified that entities that have not started their activity by 30 December 2024 are prohibited from operating until they obtain authorisation, and those already authorised must comply with the new rules during the transitional regime.

4.5. National crypto-assets legislation

Law 69/2025, of 15 April 2025, appointed the Bank of Portugal and the Securities Commission (Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários, "CMVM") as the Portuguese competent authorities for the purposes of MiCA.

The supervisory responsibilities are distributed as follows:

(1) Bank of Portugal

• Authorisation of service providers;
• Acquisition of cryptoasset service providers;
• Matters related to asset-referenced tokens and electronic money tokens; and
• Prudential requirements, governance mechanisms of cryptoasset service providers, and outsourcing and orderly winding-up of cryptoasset service providers.

(2) CMVM

• Prevention and prohibition of market abuse related to crypto-assets;
• Supervision of public offerings and admission to trading of crypto-assets that are not asset-referenced tokens and electronic money tokens;
• Supervision of compliance with obligations applicable to all cryptoasset service providers; and
• Supervision of compliance with obligations related to specific cryptoasset services.

Law 69/2025 mandates the Bank of Portugal and CMVM, as the national competent authorities, to cooperate with each other by exchanging information for the purposes of coordination, in order to address any supervisory inconsistencies and enable the authorisation of new operators following article 93 of MiCA, which requires competent authorities the same duties with a view to ensure consistent and effective supervision across Member States.

Service providers must ensure their employees providing consultancy have adequate knowledge and skills, assessed annually, and make documentation available to the CMVM upon request. Furthermore, apparently, they must provide a complaints book.

Law 69/2025 also establishes a sanctioning regime that provides for serious and very serious administrative offenses, with fines of up to five million euros for legal entities, determined based on turnover or benefits obtained. These administrative offenses include violations such as unauthorised offers, market abuse, and non-compliance with reporting obligations.

Ancillary sanctions are also established and include situations such as the prohibition from performing functions for up to 10 years.

Lastly, the law provides for consumer protection measures, introducing the possibility of public interest actions for crypto-assets holders. Furthermore, it imposes on issuers and service providers the obligation to offer access to alternative and effective dispute resolution mechanisms, therefore recommending adherence to mediation entities and the review of contracts with clients to include refund and transparency clauses.

5. 2026 Outlook

Looking ahead into 2026, several uncertainties loom over Portugal's economic growth and political stability while acceleration in AI investments could reach Portugal and contribute positively to the national economy.

The following are our views on the main issues affecting Portugal in 2026:

• Misalignment in the western world. As the EU and the US drift apart and shared values no longer assure economic cooperation, Europe will face the need to moderate its legislative impetus and adopt a business-minded approach to address geopolitical tensions and its 20-year-long period of slow economic growth.

The deepening misalignment between Europe and the US is not due entirely from Trump's rise to power, but from the slow and gradual divergence of the two continents in critical policy areas, as well as on the public and. private sector's roles in tech development.

Europe's lag behind the US and China in artificial intelligence represents the culmination of over 30 years of low investment in technology, over-reliance on US tech offerings, and the wrong belief that EU institutions and national states should take a leading role in fostering innovation for which they are ill-prepared.

The EU must face the fact that only independent and creative private initiative, operating in a market-oriented economy, can lead to significant advances in technology.

• Portuguese economic and social imbalances will tend to worsen before they can improve. In the midst of these economic and geopolitical changes, Portugal faces its own structural problems, resulting from more than ten years without making any significant effort to attract foreign investment at scale.

We do not expect significant changes in Portuguese policies, but only slight improvements resulting from a more business-friendly approach, as evidenced in the recent announcements of the reduction in corporate taxes, the desire to create an AI infrastructure and the reforms in various administrative procedures.

• Difficulties for a minority government to push for reforms and sustain social and political pressure. The Portuguesegovernment has to deal with the challenge of making reforms without knowing if it will stay in office for the duration of the current election term.

Several small changes have been made that may yield positive results, such as the recently approved AI agenda and the announcement of Microsoft's investments in a Portuguese data centre.

Despite the government's efforts, deep structural issues hamper the judicial system, administrative decisions and healthcare. Tax pressure on middle class families is now perceived by all as burdening their present and future disposable income expectations. Tax reductions are not well received by many and the pressure from ever-growing social costs makes it difficult to bring about significant changes.

The government’s plan to further reduce corporate income tax can result in more domestic and international investment, but the need to reduce personal income tax and social security contributions is now obvious.

• Housing prices will continue to increase until the gap with Spain and other southern European economies is softened. Housing prices will continue to increase in 2026 and until a worldwide shift in prices spills over to Portuguese assets.

The fact that the housing crisis affects many Western countries shows that it is unlikely that local governments can do much to reverse the trend. Only massive investment in social housing, aligned with a more predictable and streamlined licensing process, could have a significant impact on the housing market.

The Portuguese government has introduced several legislative changes aimed at facilitating the construction of new homes, which will have a positive impact on the sector, but it will take several years for the benefits of these changes to be felt on the ground.

• Banks will continue holding strong balance sheets. Banks operating in Portugal have built sufficient strength to fight an economic downturn and to continue funding the economy.

Increases in house prices are contributing to the banks' present strength, as the value of their mortgage portfolios also increases and non-performing mortgages can be realised with fewer losses.

Following Portugal's sovereign debt crisis of 2010, which was followed by a surge in bank non-performing assets, domestic banks turned around their money allocation strategy, implemented stronger compliance and financial governance mechanisms, putting them in an ideal position to benefit from Portugal's mild economic growth over the last 10 years.

We expect banks will continue to navigate smooth waters but will face increasing competition within the local market and from fintech providers as Portuguese consumers and bank clients start to favour tech solutions over old-school banking.

• AI usage will deepen and start affecting various business sectors. Following the rapid adoption of consumer AI solutions like ChatGPT, knowledge professions, including financial advisors and banks, will incorporate AI into their business processes.

Despite present solutions being still far from the desired results due to their chat-like format, B2B AI-powered solutions will emerge and affect all business sectors. Programming is in the first wave of the AI tech revolution, with all major LLMs deeply investing in real-life programming applications.

Marketing, finance and law, presently using general models or wrapper B2B solutions, will be the next sectors to be affected. We expect to continue seeing more first-wave AI solutions in 2026, with no player achieving dominance in the respective sectors.

Banks and other financial companies are now at a crossroads: investing in proprietary novel solutions that require significant investment and deep internal cultural changes or viewing AI as a product that can be purchased off-the-shelf.

• Heavy investments in AI infrastructure will impact positively on Europe and Portugal. As developments in AI advance and consumer and business adoption accelerate, we expect that investments in data centres and other AI related infrastructure will contribute to Portugal's economic growth.

As AI compute needs increase so does the need for data centres. Demand is now led by hyperscalers, but geopolitical tensions, regulatory pressure and technical developments, such as edge computing, are pushing for data centres of different scales to be built in Europe.

Portugal can capitalise on its advantages for the development of data centres, including its proximity to key submarine communication cables linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas, installed renewable energy capacity (from onshore and offshore wind and solar) and favourable conditions for the development of green energy projects.

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The European Commission’s “Digital Omnibus” package (COM(2025) 837 final) and the parallel “Digital Omnibus on AI” proposal (COM(2025) 836 final) mark a shift from regulatory expansion towards regulatory consolidation in EU digital governance.

Rather than introducing new substantive duties, the package seeks to reduce duplicative compliance burdens, clarify interfaces between overlapping instruments, and enhance enforcement coherence across the EU’s digital rulebook.

This paper analyses the legal technique and policy rationale of the Digital Omnibus and assesses its implications for three intersecting domains: (i) data regulation (Data Act and the broader data acquis), (ii) data protection and privacy (GDPR and ePrivacy), and (iii) governance of AI systems and platforms (AI Act, DSA, and P2B). It argues that the initiative’s effectiveness will depend on whether simplification is achieved through genuine alignment of procedures and supervisory coordination, while maintaining the level of protection required by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Keywords: Digital Omnibus; AI Act; GDPR; Digital Services Act; Data Act; enforcement; Portugal..

Introduction

The EU’s “agile digital rulebook” agenda

EU digital regulation has evolved rapidly from sector-specific measures to a dense horizontal framework covering data protection, online platforms, digital markets, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Core instruments include the GDPR, the DSA, the DMA, the Data Governance Act (DGA), the Data Act, and the AI Act. While each instrument pursues distinct objectives, their cumulative application has produced overlaps in definitions, documentation requirements, incident reporting and supervisory competences – raising compliance costs and creating legal uncertainty for cross-border operators.

The Digital Omnibus package is framed as a first “targeted” step towards an “agile digital rulebook”. The Commission’s Explanatory Memorandum emphasises that the amendments are technical in nature, seek to lower compliance costs, and aim to preserve underlying policy objectives and standards of fundamental-rights protection. The package also sits alongside a broader “digital fitness check” intended to map cumulative impacts and identify further alignment opportunities during the legislative mandate.

Legal technique, scope, and structure of the package

Legally, the Digital Omnibus follows a classic omnibus technique: a single proposal amending multiple regulations and directives, combined with targeted repeals of instruments deemed redundant or superseded. COM(2025) 837 final proposes amendments to the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), the Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854), and selected cybersecurity and privacy instruments, and repeals, inter alia, the Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1807), the P2B Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/1150), the DGA (Regulation (EU) 2022/868), and the Open Data Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/1024). In parallel, COM(2025) 836 final proposes amendments to the AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) and sectoral legislation (including Regulation (EU) 2018/1139) to facilitate implementation.

The package therefore has a dual character. First, it consolidates and simplifies parts of the data and privacy acquis (including incident reporting). Second, it introduces implementation-focused adjustments for AI governance. For regulated entities, the practical question is whether procedural alignment will enable re-use of compliance artefacts (e.g., risk assessments, reporting templates) and reduce the risk of parallel investigations triggered by the same event or system. 

Table 1. Selected Digital Omnibus Measures

Data regulation: towards “One Data Act”

A central pillar of the Digital Omnibus is the restructuring of the “data legislative acquis”. The Commission identifies legal complexity driven by partially superseded rules and unaligned definitions. COM(2025) 837 final proposes repeal of Regulation (EU) 2018/1807 (Free Flow of Non?Personal Data) on the basis that switching obligations are now addressed in the Data Act. It also proposes repealing the DGA and the Open Data Directive, while integrating their functional content into a restructured Data Act framework. This consolidation has potential benefits: a single normative anchor for data access, sharing and intermediation; reduced interpretive friction across instruments; and simplified compliance mapping for industry.

The Commission’s Staff Working Document anticipates simplification through, inter alia, narrowing scope in specific areas (such as business-to-government access in emergencies), removing or adjusting requirements considered administratively burdensome, and extending proportionality measures beyond SMEs to “small mid?cap enterprises”. The inclusion of model contractual terms and standard clauses seeks to operationalise the framework by providing templates that can be adopted at scale, potentially reducing negotiation and compliance costs in cloud and data-sharing arrangements.

Data protection and privacy: clarifications with high constitutional stakes

The Digital Omnibus is unusual in that it does not only streamline procedures but also proposes targeted adjustments to the GDPR and the privacy rulebook. The Staff Working Document explicitly identifies the definition of personal data and the treatment of anonymisation and pseudonymisation techniques as areas where greater clarity is sought. In addition, it addresses the processing of personal data for the development and operation of AI systems and models, and it proposes streamlining data breach notification and the “notion of high risk” for the purposes of data protection impact assessments.

From a doctrinal perspective, any recalibration of GDPR concepts requires careful assessment against the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular Articles 7 and 8, and the proportionality principle. Simplification that reduces uncertainty is desirable; however, simplification that materially lowers substantive safeguards may intensify constitutional litigation risk and create divergent enforcement approaches pending Court of Justice clarification. The proposal also addresses “consent fatigue” by modernising cookie consent mechanics and aligning elements of the ePrivacy regime with the GDPR. While improved user experience and reduced banner fatigue are plausible benefits, the compliance impact will hinge on how exemptions are defined and how preference signals are standardised and evidenced.

Platform governance: repeal of P2B and the continuing DSA–DMA duality

For platform operators and business users, the proposed repeal of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (P2B) reflects a policy judgment that parts of the platform-to-business transparency regime have been superseded by the DSA’s horizontal framework. Yet the legal and practical consequences of repeal depend on whether DSA coverage fully substitutes for the removed obligations, particularly for smaller platforms not designated as VLOPs or VLOSEs.

More broadly, the Omnibus does not eliminate the structural duality between the DSA (systemic risk and content governance) and the DMA (market power and contestability). Enforcement remains multi-level: the Commission holds exclusive competence over certain VLOP/VLOSE due diligence obligations, while national Digital Services Coordinators supervise other DSA obligations and ensure national coordination. This architecture may generate procedural duplication when platform conduct simultaneously implicates consumer protection, data protection, and competition rules. A key question for the Omnibus agenda is therefore not only alignment of reporting templates, but also alignment of supervisory cooperation and information-sharing rules across authorities.

The “Digital Omnibus on AI”: implementation, proportionality, and institutional capacity

COM(2025) 836 final proposes targeted amendments to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) to address implementation challenges identified during early application phases, including delays in standards and the establishment of national governance and conformity assessment frameworks. The proposal maintains the AI Act’s risk-based logic but seeks to facilitate smooth and predictable application, including by extending certain support and proportionality measures to “small mid?cap enterprises”. It also amends Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 to integrate high-risk AI requirements into the aviation safety framework, illustrating the broader challenge of embedding AI governance into sectoral safety regimes.

For businesses, the most salient dimension is legal certainty: implementation-focused simplification can reduce the transaction costs of compliance planning, particularly where application dates are linked to the availability of harmonised standards, guidance, and supervisory tools. For authorities, the Omnibus underscores capacity constraints: AI governance is highly technical, and enforcement effectiveness will depend on coordinated guidance and consistent interpretation across Member States.

Enforcement coherence and Portugal: coordination risks in a multi-authority environment

The Digital Omnibus explicitly seeks to reduce fragmentation not only in EU rulemaking, but also in how EU digital law is administered and enforced.

Portugal provides a clear illustration of the coordination challenge because several supervisory “nodes” intersect. GDPR supervision is carried out by the Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD), an independent administrative authority with powers of authority that operates alongside the Assembleia da República. Platform supervision under the DSA, in turn, requires a designated Digital Services Coordinator; in Portugal, ANACOM, the National Communications Authority, has been appointed as the competent authority and Digital Services Coordinator. ANACOM’s remit has recently expanded further. In 2025, Decree-Law No. 125/2025 designated ANACOM as the National Sectoral Cybersecurity Authority for electronic communications and postal services. Decree-Law No. 2/2025 also designated ANACOM as Portugal’s competent authority for data intermediation services under the Data Governance Act and as Portugal’s representative on the European Data Innovation Board.

These competences will often converge in practice. Depending on the service model and its legal qualification, a single AI-enabled product feature (for example, automated content ranking, biometric onboarding, or targeted advertising optimisation) may engage: (i) GDPR requirements (lawfulness, transparency and DPIAs), (ii) AI Act requirements (risk management, documentation and governance controls), and – where the service falls within the DSA’s scope – (iii) DSA duties (transparency, systemic-risk assessment and mitigation). Absent strong coordination mechanisms, a single incident –such as an algorithmic failure, unlawful biometric processing, or a data breach – can generate multiple notification channels and parallel proceedings across authorities, each operating under different procedural frameworks and timelines.

Recent CNPD intervention regarding biometric data collection underscores the practical importance of rapid supervisory action in Portugal. in March 2024, the CNPD adopted an urgent provisional measure restricting the collection of biometric data (iris/face) associated with Worldcoin’s enrolment activities in Portugal. Importantly, the factual trigger was not “platform content moderation” as such, but the rapid scaling of a high-risk biometric processing operation linked to a digital service ecosystem. The episode shows how interim supervisory action can materially limit exposure while a full assessment proceeds – and why coordination becomes critical when the same underlying product stack can simultaneously engage data protection enforcement, cyber incident response expectations, and (where applicable) digital-service governance obligations.

For regulated entities, the enforcement exposure is therefore not limited to the substantive standards under each instrument. It also includes the procedural burden of concurrent investigations, potentially inconsistent remedial measures, duplicative information requests, and conflicting timelines. Any Omnibus-driven “single reporting point” for incidents will therefore require robust rules on allocation of competence, confidentiality, and onward transmission of information, to avoid both under-enforcement and needless duplication.

Conclusion

The Digital Omnibus signals a mature phase in EU digital regulation: a recognition that an ambitious digital rulebook requires coherent interfaces, proportionate procedures, and enforceable governance structures.

The package’s consolidation of the data acquis into a more unified Data Act framework, its procedural streamlining of privacy compliance, and its implementation-focused adjustments to the AI Act offer plausible pathways to reduce duplicative burdens. Yet the initiative also carries legal risks. Where simplification affects core GDPR concepts or consent structures, constitutional scrutiny and litigation risk may increase.

The success of the Omnibus will therefore depend on precision in drafting and on the quality of supervisory coordination – both at EU level and within Member States such as Portugal.

References

• European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2018/1724, (EU) 2018/1725, (EU) 2023/2854 and Directives 2002/58/EC, (EU) 2022/2555 and (EU) 2022/2557, and repealing Regulations (EU) 2018/1807, (EU) 2019/1150, (EU) 2022/868 and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (Digital Omnibus), COM(2025) 837 final, 19 November 2025.
• European Commission, Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulations (EU) 2024/1689 and (EU) 2018/1139 (Digital Omnibus on AI), COM(2025) 836 final, 19 November 2025.
• European Commission, Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the Digital Omnibus proposals, SWD(2025) 836 final, 19 November 2025.
• European Commission, A simpler and faster Europe: Communication on implementation and simplification, COM(2025) 47 final, 11 February 2025.
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation).
• Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act).
• Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 (Digital Markets Act).
• Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (Artificial Intelligence Act).
• Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 (Data Act).
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (Platform-to-Business Regulation).
• Regulation (EU) 2022/868 (Data Governance Act).
• Decree-Law No. 20-B/2024 of 16 February (Portugal) – designation of the competent authorities and the Digital Services Coordinator (DSA).
• Decree-Law No. 2/2025 of 23 January (Portugal) – implementation of Regulation (EU) 2022/868 and designation of ANACOM as the competent authority for data intermediation services.
• Decree-Law No. 125/2025 of 4 December (Portugal) – legal framework for cybersecurity and designation of ANACOM as the National Sectoral Cybersecurity Authority for electronic.
• Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados (CNPD), official website and public information portal.
• ANACOM, “Digital services” (DSA) – designation as Digital Services Coordinator in Portugal.
• European Commission, “Digital Services Coordinators” (DSA cooperation framework) – policy page.

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The year 2025 was marked by significant legislative and regulatory activity in the Portuguese Technology, Media and Telecommunications.

Developments in 2025 focused on the reinforcement of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure resilience through the transposition of the NIS2 and CER Directives, as well as on the development of new infrastructure supporting data transmission and electronic communications, notably through strategic investment in submarine cable systems aimed at strengthening connectivity and international data flows.

Regulatory action addressed key aspects of the electronic communications framework, notably through the approval of the number portability regulation, strengthening consumer protection by allowing end users to change providers more swiftly and at no additional cost, while lowering barriers to effective competition.

Set out below is an overview of the main legislative and regulatory developments adopted in Portugal during 2025 that are of particular relevance to TMT.

National Legislation

Decree-Law No. 2/2025 (23.01.2025)

Implements Regulation (EU) 2022/868 (Data Governance Act) in Portugal, designating the competent national authorities and establishing the applicable sanctioning regime. The decree assigns supervisory powers to ANACOM for data intermediation services, with direct implications for digital platforms and operators involved in controlled data sharing activities.

Ordinance No. 166/2025/2 (28.02.2025)

Establishes procedures for determining revenues relevant to calculating the financial contribution payable by providers of electronic communications networks and services under the general authorisation regime. The ordinance standardises calculation and reporting through a mandatory declaration model, electronically submitted to ANACOM, and enhanced audit mechanisms.

Decree-Law No. 22/2025 (19.03.2025)

Transposes Directive (EU) 2022/2557 (CER) into Portuguese law, establishing a national framework for the identification of critical entities and the enhancement of their resilience. The decree defines the competent authorities, sets out the applicable obligations and procedures, and establishes the supervisory and sanctioning regime applicable to entities providing essential services.

Order No. 5477/2025 (14.05.2025)

Assigns to the Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT, I.P.) responsibility for overseeing the management of the Atlantic CAM concession agreement between the Portuguese State and Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A.

Law No. 59/2025 (22.10.2025)

Authorises the Government to establish a new legal framework for cybersecurity through the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS2).

The decree sets out the scope and governance structure of the future regime, including risk management and incident notification obligations, supervisory and enforcement powers, and the applicable sanctioning framework, while also allowing for amendments to related legislation and establishing a 180-day period for the exercise of the legislative authorisation.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 24 November 2025.

Council of Ministers Resolutions No. 183/2025,184/2025 and185/2025 (26.11.2025)

Establishes Portugal's strategic framework for submarine cable infrastructure development.

Resolution 183/2025 updates the multi-year expenditure authorisation for the Atlantic CAM system. Resolution 184/2025 mandates preparatory studies for the complementary “Anel Açores” submarine cable system, requiring open wholesale access and enhanced cybersecurity compliance. Resolution 185/2025 authorises Infraestruturas de Portugal to incur multi-year expenditure and to allocate financial commitments relating to the subcontract for the operation, management and maintenance of the Atlantic CAM submarine cable system.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 28 November 2025.

Decree-Law No. 125/2025 (4.12.2025)

Establishes a new national cybersecurity framework through the transposition of Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (NIS2). The decree defines the categories of covered entities and the governance model, identifies the competent authorities, and sets out risk management and incident notification obligations. It also establishes the applicable supervisory powers and sanctioning regime, thereby strengthening Portugal’s overall cybersecurity.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 15 December 2025.

ANACOM rulings and public consultations

Regulation No. 38/2025 (9.01.2025)

Establishes the rules applicable to the number portability regime, ensuring that end users can retain their telephone numbers when switching providers of electronic communications services.

The regulation defines the procedural and operational requirements applicable to providers, including cooperation obligations, processing timelines and technical arrangements necessary to ensure a smooth, timely and uninterrupted switching process. The regime supports consumer protection and promotes effective competition by reducing barriers to changing service providers.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 13 January 2025.

Notice No. 22408/2025/2 (10.09.2025)

Approved the draft regulation setting out the technical instructions applicable to the deployment of reduced-area wireless access points, implementing Decree-Law No. 97/2024, and defining installation requirements to ensure minimal visual impact and compliance with applicable technical standards.

The draft regulation was submitted to a 30-day public consultation, which closed on 22 October 2025.

Notice No. 22543/2025/2 (11.09.2025)

Approves a draft amendment to Regulation No. 86/2007, updating electromagnetic field monitoring and measurement procedures to reflect technological developments, notably the deployment of 4G and 5G networks. The draft introduces specific rules for small-area wireless access points, adjusts decision levels to avoid double counting of measurement uncertainties, and modernises monitoring obligations to align with current technical standards.

The draft regulation was submitted to a 30-day public consultation, which closed on 23 October 2025.

Notice No. 22650/2025/2 (12.09.2025)

Approves a draft amendment to Regulation No. 256/2009, updating the rules on the identification and signage of radiocommunications stations to reflect current regulatory and operational requirements.

The draft regulation was submitted to a 30-day public consultation, which closed on 24 October 2025, and was approved on 23 December 2025.

ANACOM decision on the draft framework for international wholesale traffic carrier services (02.12.2025)

Approves the draft decision setting out the regulatory framework applicable to the international wholesale traffic carrier services, clarifying its qualification under the Portuguese Electronic Communications Law and the criteria for determining when such services fall within the scope of the regulatory framework.

The draft decision was submitted to a 30-day public consultation, which closed on 19 January 2026.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 17 December 2025.

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The Portuguese Government has approved the National Artificial Intelligence “AI” Agenda[1] (Agenda Nacional de Inteligência Artificial, “National AI Agenda”), together with its governance model and the corresponding Action Plan for the period 2026–2030 (Plano de Ação da Agenda Nacional de Inteligência Artificial).

The National AI Agenda projects that AI will generate GDP gains of €18–22 billion over the decade and an annual productivity increase of up to 2.7 percentage points, addressing Portugal's structural gaps relative to EU averages. Portugal's National AI Agenda aims to foster the development of an AI infrastructure, via the construction of data centres and supercomputing capacity, promotion of AI adoption, regulatory sandboxes, and talent development programmes. These measures promote innovation through R&D incentives, ethical AI deployment, and intellectual property regime reviews, while phased implementation from 2025–2030 ensures scalable benefits.

Background

Portugal has recognised the potential of AI for several years, most notably with the adoption of the AI Portugal 2030 Strategy in 2019. Since then, the rapid rise of generative AI, combined with the EU AI Act, has highlighted the need for a clearer and more comprehensive national approach to AI.

The National AI Agenda builds on a broad preparatory process, including public consultations, expert hearings, academic and industry engagement, and structured contributions from the entire Public Administration.

The agenda is grounded in Portugal’s structural advantages, including a strong network of universities and research centres, a dynamic startup ecosystem, access to competitively priced and largely renewable energy, advanced digital connectivity and international submarine cable infrastructure, and an increasing ability to attract international investment and highly qualified talent. These factors have made Portugal increasingly attractive for AI-enabling infrastructure, particularly hyperscale and high-performance data centres.

According to the projections cited in the resolution, widespread adoption of AI could add €18-22 billion to Portugal’s GDP over the next decade and increase annual productivity growth by up to 2.7 percentage points, addressing a long-standing structural productivity gap relative to the European average.

KEY CONTENT

The National AI Agenda is structured around four main pillars: infrastructure, innovation, skills and ethics.

• The infrastructure and data pillar focuses on ensuring the availability of sufficient computing power and high-quality data resources. Key measures include the expansion of national supercomputing capacity, the implementation of a National Data Centres Plan with simplified licensing procedures, and the creation of shared data spaces for priority sectors such as health, industry, education, and public administration.
• The innovation and adoption pillar aims to translate AI into a practical driver of economic activity. It provides for funding of research and applied projects, the creation of sectoral AI centres, support for corporate AI research and development, and incentives to encourage the adoption of AI solutions by companies and public bodies.
• The talent and skills pillar addresses the shortage of specialised professionals through training programmes, the expansion of advanced education and industry-linked doctoral paths, and measures designed to attract and retain international AI talent.
• The responsibility and ethics pillar ensures that AI is developed and deployed in a safe, lawful, and trustworthy manner. It includes the national implementation of the EU AI Act, the use of regulatory sandboxes for controlled testing, and the provision of guidance and tools to support risk management and compliance.

ACTION PLAN

The National AI Agenda gives practical effect to the agenda through 32 initiatives involving public authorities, universities, research centres, and private companies.

These initiatives include the reinforcement of national supercomputing infrastructure and support for the establishment of a European AI gigafactory in Portugal. The plan also provides for the rollout of focused data spaces and the opening of funding calls for both fundamental and applied AI research projects.

Further measures include the creation of sector specific AI centres, targeted programmes to encourage AI adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises, and the continuation and expansion of the AMALIA Portuguese-language AI model.

The Agenda foresees a review of the intellectual property regime applicable to AI, including patentability criteria and the regulatory framework, expected in the first half of 2026, with the aim of providing clearer standards for research institutions and companies.

In addition, an AI Centre of Excellence will be established within public administration to strengthen governance and support the effective deployment of AI solutions.

Total planned investment exceeds €400 million through 2030, largely financed by EU funds.

IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE

Implementation follows a phased approach. Preparatory measures began in the second half of 2025 and include the deployment and expansion of supercomputing capacity, the finalisation of the National Data Centres Plan, and early support mechanisms for AI adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises.

The main rollout, however, will take place in the current year, with the rollout of sector-specific data spaces, AI training programmes, public-sector AI governance structures, funding calls for research and applied projects, and operationally ready for service of AI centres.

From 2027 onwards, the focus shifts to scaling, consolidation, and continuous monitoring, with implementation extending through 2030.

Final remarks

The agenda is expected to have its greatest impact on technology companies, AI developers, startups, and data centre operators, which stand to benefit from infrastructure support, funding opportunities, and increased regulatory protection and clarity.

Corporations adopting AI at scale, particularly in the health, manufacturing, industry, and services sectors, will gain access to specialised centres and applied research support.

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The second half of 2025 saw the adoption of a number of legislative and regulatory measures in Portugal. Among the most relevant was the abolition of the clawback mechanism. Introduced in 2013, the clawback consisted of a financial compensation charged to electricity producers, intended to offset perceived distortions in the Iberian electricity market resulting from differences between Portuguese and Spanish taxation, and which has been widely contested by market players. Its repeal, effective as from the 2025 financial year, puts an end to a long-standing charge on producers and represents an important step towards improved investment conditions in the Portuguese renewable market.

Alongside the end of this long-standing mechanism, national lawmakers and regulators adopted several measures of relevance to renewable energy projects, including the launch of new licensing and competitive procedures for biomass power plants, important clarifications on the environmental and licensing framework applicable to energy storage projects, the approval of a new legal and regulatory framework for electric mobility, as well as initiatives addressing grid capacity constraints, energy efficiency and the mitigation of energy poverty.

Set out below is an overview of the main legislative and regulatory developments adopted in Portugal between July and December 2025 that are of particular relevance to the renewable energy sector.

1. National Legislation

Order No. 8030/2025 (14.07.2025)

Establishes rules, amounts and model for the security deposit to be provided by producers when reserving injection capacity into the national gas grid.

Decree-Law No. 93/2025 (14.08.2025)

Establishes the legal framework for electric mobility, applicable to the organization, access to and exercise of activities related to electric mobility.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 26 August 2025.

Order No. 71/SEAEn/2025 (30.09.2025)

Extends by 12 months the deadlines for (i) projects holding production licenses issued under Decree-Law No. 15/2022, as well as to certificates for generation units of up to 1 MW capacity.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 10 October 2025.

Ordinance No. 323/2025/1 (03.10.2025)

Sets the amounts of the fees payable in connection with the prior administrative control procedures applicable to the activity of electricity and mechanical energy generation and the production of useful heat in cogeneration.

Resolution No. 156/2025 (09.10.2025)

Establishes the governance model for the implementation of the National Energy and Climate Plan 2030, as well as the governmental framework for the monitoring and implementation of the Climate Framework Law.

Ordinance No. 358/2025/1 (13.10.2025)

Establishes the procedural requirements for applications for production and operation licenses of biomass power plants.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 23 October 2025.

Order No. 12554/2025 (27.10.2025)

Sets the final compensation to be applied for the year 2024 per unit of energy injected into the public electricity grid, under the clawback mechanism.

Decree-Law No. 120/2025 (14.11.2025)

Amends Decree-Law No. 80/2023, of 6 September which establishes the exceptional procedure for the allocation of grid connection capacity to electricity consumption installations in high-demand areas.

Ordinance No. 425/2025/1 (27.11.2025)

Establishes the terms of the competitive procedure for the allocation of injection capacity reservation rights in the public service electricity grid for new biomass power plants.

Ordinance No. 442-A/2025/1 (12.12.2025)

Provides for the launch of a financial instrument to support energy efficiency measures in the residential sector, contributing to the reduction of energy poverty in Portugal, under the Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Decree-Law No. 139-B/2025 (30.12.2025)

Abolishes the clawback mechanism established by Decree-Law No. 74/2013 of 4 June and repeals the relevant regulatory framework as from the 2025 financial year.

Ordinance No. 481/2025/1 (31.12.2025)

Establishes a support scheme for investments in equipment and infrastructure in the areas of energy efficiency, energy production and energy storage for the agricultural sector.

2. DGEG rulings

Joint Order No. 1 by DGEG and APA (30.07.2025)

Amends the rules established by the Joint Order of 14 July 2023 governing the Environmental Impact Assessment and Capacity Reservation Title procedures, by providing that network operators may issue the declaration of injection capacity in the Public Service Electricity Grid for applications to Environmental Impact Assessment for standalone storage project

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 5 August 2025.

Joint Order No. 2 (31.07.2025)

Addresses and clarifies the procedures for the licensing and environmental assessment of electrical energy storage facilities, determining the situations in which storage projects are not subject to Environmental Impact Assessment nor to a case-by-case analysis.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 5 August.

Clarification Notice No. 5/DG/2025 (29.09.2025)

Clarifies Joint Order No. 2., by providing that the inclusion of a storage installation within a renewable power plant previously deemed exempt from Environmental Impact Assessment or from case-by-case analysis is likewise exempt, provided that it is located within the same project area as originally licensed.

Order No. 1265/2025 (28.10.2025)

Establishes the technical standards to be observed in the installation and operation of closed distribution networks.

Notice No. 28099/2025/2 (12.11.2025)

Call for applications to the Modernisation Fund – Private Sector.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 27 November 2025.

Rectification Notice No. 1101/2025/2 (02.12.2025)

Rectifies Notice No. 28099/2025/2 and extends the deadline for the submission of applications until 15 December 2025.

3. ERSE rulings

Directive No. 8/2025 (30.07.2025)

Approves the network access tariffs applicable to facilities holding electro-intensive customer status.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 29 July 2025.

Regulation No. 987/2025 (13.08.2025)

Approves the Guide on Measurement, Meter Reading and Data Provisioning for the Electricity Sector.

Directive No. 9/2025 (11.09.2025)

Approves the Procedures Manual for the Global System Management of the Electrical Sector.

Directive No. 10/2025 (24.10.2025)

Approves exceptional rules governing the settlement of the electricity market for 28 and 29 April 2025.

Regulation No. 1218/2025 (07.11.2025)

Approves the Tariff Regulation for the electricity sector.

Directive No. 11/2025 (18.11.2025)

Approves the Manual of Procedures for the Activity of Registration and Bilateral Contracting of Electricity, which rules the operation of the OMIP platform for energy bilateral contracting.

For more information about the OMIP platform, please refer to our newsletter of 20 November 2025 and to our paper of 25 June 2025.

Regulation No. 3/2025 (22.12.2025)

Approves the new Electric Mobility Regulation.

Directive No. 12/2025 (29.12.2025)

Approves the tariffs of the Electric Mobility Network Managing Entity for 2026.

Directive No. 12-A/2025 (30.12.2025)

Approves the allocation of funding for the costs of the social tariff for the year 2026, together with adjustments relating to the years 2024 and 2025.

4. Public consultations

Public Consultation on Renewable Energy Targets (25.09.2025)

Partial transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 (RED III Directive), which updates the national targets for the incorporation of renewable energy up to 2030.

The public consultation closed on 25 October 2025, but report and documents not yet available.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 29 September 2025.

Public Consultation on amendments to the National Electricity System Law (03.10.2025)

Partial transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 (RED III Directive), that  introduces amendments to the National Electricity System framework enacted by Decree-Law No. 15/2022, of 14 January.

The public consultation closed on 23 October 2025, but report and documents not yet available.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our newsletter of 20 October 2025.

Voir pdf

Ministerial Order No. 15/2026/1 established an exceptional procedure for capacity allocation in the Portuguese electricity grid (RESP - Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público) in high-demand areas (“Ministerial Order”). It addresses an urgent infrastructural bottleneck by combining administrative recovery mechanisms with market-based allocation tools, seeking to balance economic growth (namely billion-dollar investments in data centers) with security supply and public interest priorities.

The key points covered are:

• Definition of the scope and timeline of the exceptional procedure;
• Regulation of the security deposit;
• Monitoring compliance with the allocated capacity schedule; and
• Definition of auction lots for the allocation of available capacity.

Background

Portugal has become an attractive destination for hyperscale data centres due to its abundant renewable energy resources, strategic transatlantic connectivity, favourable climate, and investment incentives. However, connection requests have far exceed the available grid capacity in key regions (Lisbon, the Tagus Valley, Sines), with pending data centres requests surpassing Portugal’s historical peak demand. This situation has exposed structural weaknesses in the "first come, first served" allocation model, namely:

• Reservation of unused capacity by delayed or abandoned projects;
• Speculative requests lacking firm investment commitment; and
• Lack of prioritization for projects of public interest.

The exceptional procedure for the allocation of connection capacity to the Public Electricity Grid is based on the prior recognition of “zones of high demand”, as set out in Decree-Law No. 80/2023 and as subsequently  amended by Decree-Law No. 120/2025. A zone is recognised as being of high demand where, within a given area, two or more requests for the connection of new electricity consumption installations cannot be met within the required timeframes, even taking into account the planned grid investments.

In such cases, the grid operator prepares a technical report, subject to an opinion from the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), and submits a proposal to the Government for the recognition of the zone of high demand. This recognition triggers the opening of the exceptional procedure and suspends, until its closure, the allocation of new capacity to affected customers outside that regime.

The procedure unfolds through successive phases, which may or may not be triggered depending on the available capacity, namely:

• Expression of interest and provision of a security deposit;
• Identification and recovery of unused capacity;
• Alignment of project timelines with grid reinforcement schedules; and
• Auction for the allocation of available capacity where the supply resulting from grid reinforcements and recovered capacity remains insufficient.

Main features

The new Ministerial Order establishes new rules for the new exceptional procedure, namely:

• Power thresholds for medium - and high-voltage access requests that fall outside the exceptional regime established by Decree-Law No. 80/2023;
• The formula for calculating the financial guarantee required under the exceptional procedure,
• applicable deadlines, and
• Matters such as the public consultation process, compliance with the allocated capacity timetable and the definition of auction lots for capacity allocation.

Power thresholds and scope of the exceptional procedure

The following medium and high-voltage grid access applications are excluded from the scope of the exceptional procedure applicable to high-demand areas, as provided for in Decree-Law No. 80/2023:

• Applications for a power equal to or less than 50 MVA, where intended for (i) the provision of essential public services; (ii) predominantly residential projects, including subdivision developments and urbanisation works; (iii) the operation of charging points for electric vehicles and vessels.
• Applications for a power equal to or less than 20 MVA in all other cases.

These applications are not subject to the suspension of capacity allocation associated with the exceptional procedure and therefore remain ruled by the general grid access regime, under which connection capacity may be allocated to them, subject to and to the extent of available capacity.

To check these thresholds, the values are calculated per high-demand area, taking into account the total power requested by entities under the same ownership or corporate group.

Deadlines

The Ministerial Order establishes the deadlines for all stages of the exceptional procedure, from the public consultation, which must last 20 business days, to the issuance of grid connection capacity titles. While intended to ensure procedural efficiency, these deadlines may be extended once, for an equivalent period, in cases of duly justified complexity.

Public consultation

The public consultation for expressions of interest in the allocation of grid connection capacity is promoted by the grid operator responsible for conducting the exceptional procedure and is published by the Portuguese Energy Ministerial Department (DGEG - Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia) in the Official Gazette (Diário da República).

Calculation of the security deposit

Applicants seeking the allocation of grid connection capacity in high-demand areas are required to provide a financial deposit at the time of submitting their expression of interest. Under the exceptional procedure established by Decree-Law No. 80/2023, the calculation of this guarantee is based on capacity tiers, as follows:

• € 13,500 per MVA up to 20 MVA;
• € 20,250 per MVA between 20 and 60 MVA;
• € 30,375 per MVA between 60 and 120 MVA;
• € 35,437.5 per MVA between 120 and 240 MVA; and
• € 40,500 per MVA above 240 MVA.

These amounts are automatically updated on an annual basis, every January, in accordance with the consumer price index (excluding housing) applicable in mainland Portugal. The deposit is refunded upon connection of the facility to the public grid.

Compliance with the allocated capacity schedule

To ensure the effective use of allocated grid connection capacity, the Ministerial Order establishes monitoring criteria to verify compliance with the timetable associated with the exceptional procedure. Compliance is assessed on a phase-by-phase basis, by reference to the maximum recorded power drawn from the public grid during the 12 months following the start of each phase. Such power must be equal to or greater than 50% of the cumulative capacity scheduled for that phase and must not exceed the cumulative capacity allocated to that phase or, where already initiated, to the subsequent phase.

Grid operators are responsible for monitoring compliance with these criteria, and non-compliant facilities must be required to comply, with the non-compliance being reported to the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG) for monitoring purposes and potential further action.

Auctions

The Ministerial Order also rules the organization of potential auctions for the allocation of available capacity, establishing that the auctions lots must comply with principles of transparency, fairness, competition, and non-discrimination.

Entry into force

The Ministerial Order entered into force on January 10, 2026, except for the security deposit scheme, which will only enter into force on January 1, 2027.

Promoters of large projects in high-demand areas must now prepare for increased scrutiny, financial commitments, and potential competitive processes.

Voir pdf

Portugal has finally ensured the application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets (“MiCA Regulation”) through Law No. 69/2025, which establishes the framework for supervision and cooperation between national authorities.

This law allocates responsibilities between the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (Comissão de Mercado de Valores Mobiliários - “CMVM”), regulates authorisation and notification procedures, and sets out specific duties for crypto-asset service providers.

1. Competent authorities in the Portuguese crypto-asset market

The MiCA Regulation entered into force on 30 December 2024 but created a transitional period of 18 months, during which entities authorised under previous legislation could continue their activities. However, new operators needed authorisation from the competent national authority of each Member State.

Until now, Portugal had not designated a national authority to approve authorisation requests for crypto-asset services.

Law No. 69/2025 has addressed this issue by appointing the Bank of Portugal and the CMVM as the competent supervisory authorities in Portugal.

The supervision responsibilities were split as follows:

• Bank of Portugal:

- Authorisation of crypto-asset service providers;

- Acquisition of stakes in crypto service providers;

- Identification of significant crypto-asset service providers;

- Matters related to asset-referenced tokens and electronic money tokens; e

- Prudential requirements, governance arrangements of crypto-asset service providers, as well as outsourcing and orderly wind-down of crypto-asset service providers.

• CMVM:

–      Prevention and prohibition of market abuse related to crypto-asset;

–      Supervision of public offerings and admission to trading of crypto-asset other than Asset-Referenced Tokens and Electronic Money Tokens;

–      Supervision of compliance with obligations applicable to all crypto-asset service providers; e

–      Supervision of compliance with obligations related to specific crypto-asset services.

2. Authorisation and notification procedures

In what concerns authorisations and notifications, the law establishes a coordinated procedure between the two authorities:

• The Bank of Portugal must inform the CMVM within two business days of any notifications or authorisation requests it receives;
• The CMVM has (i) 10 business days to issue an opinion on the completeness of the notification or authorisation request and (ii) 15 business days to issue an opinion on the granting or refusal of the authorisation, after receiving confirmation from the Bank of Portugal that the request is complete.

The new law also requires the Bank of Portugal and the CMVM to publish and maintain an up-to-date list of entities authorised or licensed to provide crypto-asset services in Portugal, specifying the services for which they are authorised.

3. New duties applicable to service providers

The law imposes a set of organisational duties on crypto-asset service providers.

These providers are now required to ensure that employees giving advice have adequate knowledge and skills, and for this purpose must:

• Define the employees’ responsibilities;
• Annually assess the adequacy of their knowledge and skills; and
• Submit documentation to the CMVM upon request.

In addition to these obligations, the legislator appears to intend to extend the requirement to make available a complaints book, as established in Decree-Law No. 156/2005, to crypto-asset service providers, although the wording of the law is not entirely clear.

4. Transicional rules

The law establishes transitional rules for crypto-asset service providers.

Entities already registered with the Bank of Portugal, with their activity started and properly notified, may continue their operations until 1 July 2026 or until authorisation is granted or refused under Article 63 of the MiCA Regulation, whichever occurs first.

On the other hand, with the entry into force of the new law, the following registrations will expire:

• Registration and/or modification requests that were pending under the previous law as of 30 December 2024; and
• The registration of entities that, although already registered by 30 December 2024, had not yet started their activity and properly notified it.

5. Conclusions

Law No. 69/2025 fills a gap in the Portuguese legal system by establishing a clear and operational framework for the application of European rules governing crypto-assets in Portugal, thereby resolving many of the uncertainties that had previously prevented new players from entering the market.

Crypto-asset service providers, as well as entities intending to offer such services in Portugal, must now ensure compliance with the obligations established under this law.

Voir pdf

Summary

The final version of the 2026 State Budget (2026 SB) approved by the Parliament includes some changes when compared to the Government proposal presented in October 2025.

In addition to the measures included in the Government proposal – update of PIT brackets, reduction of the PIT rates applicable to the 2nd to 5th brackets, and extension of the wage enhancement incentive - the final version of the 2026 SB contemplates new rules on the deduction of teleworking expenses.

State Budget – Tax Measures

Law No. 73-A/2025 approved the State Budget for 2026 (2026 SB). The final version of the 2026 SB includes some additional changes beyond those included in the initial version.

This newsletter summarizes the main tax changes foreseen in the 2026 SB.

Personal Income Tax

Regarding Personal Income Tax (PIT), the proposed changes are as follows:

• PIT brackets update. The PIT brackets will be updated by 3,5%.

• Reduction of PIT rates. Reduction of the PIT rates for the 2nd to the 5th brackets, according to the following table:

• Minimum subsistence amount. The reference value for the minimum subsistence will be increased from €12.180 to €12.880.
• Negative scope of incidence*. The compensations and allowances paid to firefighters for voluntary activity will not be subject to income tax (PIT), up to an annual limit of six times the social support index (€3,222.78) per firefighter.
• Special rates*. The compensations and allowances paid to firefighters for their activity are no longer considered tips for PIT purposes and, therefore, are no longer subject to special rates (up to an annual limit of three times the social support index, i.e., €1,611.39 per firefighter).
• Deductions for high-wear professions*. Expenses for health insurance, personal accident insurance, and life insurance that include coverage for sports injuries and retirement supplements can now be deducted for PIT purposes, provided they relate to individuals in high-wear professions.
• Deduction of VAT*. The deduction of part of the VAT paid on certain expenses will be extended to the purchase of books from specialized stores, tickets for cultural performances (theatre, music, dance, and other artistic activities), visits to museums, historical sites and monuments, as well as expenses for borrowing books and other materials from libraries and archives.

Corporate Income Tax

In relation to the Corporate Income Tax (CIT), the 2026 State Budget includes the following changes:

• Autonomous taxation. Expansion of the list of vehicles eligible for reduced autonomous taxation rates. In addition to plug-in hybrid vehicles with a minimum electric range of 50 km and emissions below 50 gCO?/km, vehicles approved under the “Euro 6e-bis” emissions standard — which allows emissions up to 80 gCO?/km — will also be included.
• Social utility expenditures*. Compensation paid to employees for additional teleworking expenses is now recognised as a tax-deductible expense of the company, up to 15% of personnel costs. Furthermore, these expenses are eligible for a 10% additional relief when calculating taxable profit. Additional teleworking expenses include costs related to IT or telecommunications equipment and systems necessary for work, provided the employees did not already have them prior to the teleworking agreement.

It should be noted that the announced reduction of the CIT rate from 20% to 19% in 2026 was approved by Law No. 64/2025.

Value Added Tax

Regarding Value Added Tax (VAT), the following measures have been approved:

• Exemptions on operations related to suspensive regimes*. VAT exemption now covers not only the sale of tricycles, wheelchairs, and passenger cars for the personal use of people with disabilities, but also sales made to non-profit entities such as associations, sports federations, IPSS, cooperatives, and associations of and for people with disabilities.
• Reduced VAT rate. Application of the reduced VAT rate to:
  • Services related to the processing of olives into olive oil;
  • On the transfer of edible meat and offal, fresh or frozen, from game species of large or small game*; and
  • On the transfer of art objects carried out by registered resellers, in addition to transfers made by the author, heirs, or legatees*.
• Extension of VAT exemption approved by Law No. 10-A/2022*. The exemption on the sale of goods used in agricultural activity, such as fertilizers, seeds, cereals, animal feed, and glass bottles, as well as pet food when supplied to legally established animal protection associations, is extended until 31 December 2026.
• Extension of the extraordinary support scheme for agricultural production costs*. This scheme is extended until 31 December 2026.

Real Estate Transfer Tax

Regarding the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT), the 2026 State Budget includes the following change:

• Tax brackets adjustments. Update of RETT brackets by 2%.

Tax Benefits

The 2026 State Budget includes the following amendments to the Tax Benefits Statute:

• Incentive for wage increases: Maintenance in 2026 of the exemption from PIT and social security contributions, up to 6% of the annual base salary, on productivity bonuses, performance bonuses, profit-sharing, and balance-sheet gratifications that are irregular in nature. Reduction of the minimum required salary increase from 4.7% to 4.6% for companies to benefit from the 200% relief in relation to the expenses related to salary raises for employees with permanent contracts.
• Incentive for consolidation of rural properties: Extension of tax incentives for the consolidation of rural properties (exemption from RETT and stamp duty on the transfers of rural properties required for the consolidation).
• Other benefits: Extension of several tax benefits until 31 December 2026, namely:
  • Deductions under social impact bond partnerships;
  • External loans and rental of imported equipment;
  • Financial services from public entities;
  • Swaps and loans from non-resident financial institutions;
  • Deposits from non-resident credit institutions;
  • Repo operations with non-resident financial institutions;
  • Management entities of designations of origin and geographical indications;
  • Entities managing integrated systems for specific waste flow management;
  • Sports, cultural, and recreational associations;
  • Associations and confederations;
  • Tax incentives for forestry activities;
  • Forest management entities and forest management units;
  • Deduction for the determination of taxable profit for companies;
  • Deductions from individual income tax;
  • Value Added Tax (VAT) – transfers of goods and services provided free of charge.

Special Contributions

The 2026 State Budget includes the following measures:

• Special contributions. Continuation of the main extraordinary special contributions, namely:
  • Contribution to the audiovisual sector;
  • Contribution in the banking sector;
  • Contribution in the pharmaceutical industry;
  • Extraordinary contribution by suppliers to the medical devices industry of the National Health Service; and
  • Extraordinary contribution in the energy sector (CESE).
• Solidarity surcharge in the banking sector. Repeal of the solidarity surcharge on the banking sector, following its declaration of unconstitutionality by the Constitutional Court.
• Contribution to the audiovisual sector. No adjustment of the contribution to the audiovisual sector in 2026.
• Extraordinary Contribution in the energy sector. Companies operating in transportation, distribution, or underground storage of natural gas will no longer be subject to this contribution, in accordance with the unconstitutionality rulings by the Constitutional Court. Assets dedicated to the operation of electricity transmission and distribution networks, acquired from 1 January 2026, in new condition, constructed, or expanded will be excluded from the CESE tax base.

Acessory Obligations

Finally, the 2026 State Budget also includes the following measures:

• Inventory. Taxpayers will be exempt from the obligation to value inventories when fulfilling the reporting requirement under Article 3.º-A of Decree-Law No. 198/2012:
  • For the taxable period starting on or after January 1, 2025; and
  • For taxpayers not required to maintain a permanent inventory, for the taxable period starting on or after January 1, 2026.
• SAF-T. Submission of the SAF-T (PT) accounting file, as defined by Ordinance No. 31/2019, will apply to the 2027 and subsequent periods, to be submitted in 2028 or later periods.
• Invoices. Until December 31, 2026, invoices in PDF format will be accepted and electronic invoices for all purposes established in tax legislation.

*Changes introduced during the discussion of 2026 SB at the Parliament.

Voir pdf

ANACOM has opened a public consultation, following its decision of 2 December 2025, on the draft decision qualifying the wholesale international traffic transport service and its subjection to the Electronic Communications Law in Portugal. The consultation will remain open until 19 January 2026.

Purpose and scope of the draft decision

The draft sets out ANACOM’s interpretation of the statutory definitions of electronic communications networks and electronic communications services. These provisions establish the technical and functional criteria that determine the objective and subjective scope of the law and, consequently, the extent of ANACOM’s regulatory powers.

To address questions raised in administrative and judicial proceedings, the draft describes the wholesale international traffic transport service, examines its qualification under these statutory definitions, and identifies the criteria for determining when its provision falls within the scope of the Electronic Communications Law.

Submission of Contributions

Interested parties may submit their contributions in writing and in Portuguese to enquadramento.carriers@anacom.pt until 19 January 2026, with a maximum size of 20 MiB. A non-confidential version must be submitted simultaneously for publication.
Once the consultation closes, ANACOM will publish the final decision, the contributions received, and a report summarising those contributions together with the Authority’s position on them.

Voir pdf

The new Cybersecurity Law transposes the NIS 2 Directive to the Portuguese internal law and significantly expands the range of entities subject to cybersecurity obligations. It introduces stronger responsibilities for management bodies, more detailed and harmonised risk management obligations, and new rules on identification, reporting and oversight. It also creates separate supervisory models for Essential Entities and Important Entities, replacing the previous NIS 1 structure, and establishes a significantly stricter sanctioning regime. The new Cybersecurity Law becomes effective on April 4, 2026, and its practical implementation will depend on further technical instructions from the CNCS and sectoral authorities.

A NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The new Cybersecurity Law marks a significant evolution from the previous NIS 1 regime, which imposed less detailed duties and applied to a more limited group of entities. The scope is now substantially broadened to include sectors and subsectors that were not covered under NIS 1. It strengthens the obligations of public and private entities that perform essential or important functions for the economy and society.

Scope and Covered Entities

By contrast with the previous NIS 1 regime applied, only to specific public bodies within narrowly defined critical sectors, the new Cybersecurity Law divides covered entities into three categories:

1. Essential Entities, comprising entities from critical sectors that exceed the thresholds for medium-sized enterprises, medium-sized electronic communications providers, qualified trust service providers, TLD registries and DNS providers. The classification also depends on the entity’s level of exposure to risk and its potential impact;
2. Important Entities, which are entities operating in the same critical sectors that do not meet the criteria for Essential Entities; and
3. Relevant Public Entities, covering public bodies not included in the first two categories and distributed across Groups A and B depending on their size.

But, as under NIS 1, public entities operating in the fields of national security, public security, defence and intelligence services, are excluded.

New Obligations for Companies

Covered entities must register on the CNCS (National Centre for Cybersecurity) electronic platform within 30 days of starting their activity or, for existing entities, within 60 days of the platform becoming available.

The new Cybersecurity Law assigns direct responsibility for cybersecurity risk management to management bodies, whereas the previous regime imposed less explicit and less enforceable duties. Failure to ensure adequate oversight may lead to liability and sanctions for directors.

Management bodies of Essential Entities and of Important Entities now have reinforced obligations to approve and monitor cybersecurity measures, including ensuring regular training.

Risk Management Obligations

Essential Entities and Important Entities must implement technical and organisational measures proportional to their risk exposure and adopt a risk management system covering all assets and systems necessary for service continuity. Such measures must follow CNCS guidelines and risk matrices and reflect relevant technological developments.

For this purpose, the new Cybersecurity Law:

• sets minimum security requirements, including risk management policies, business continuity measures, access controls and multifactor authentication;
• requires the assessment and documentation of residual risk and the prompt adoption of corrective measures;
• imposes upon each entity the obligations to prepare an annual report, to appoint a cybersecurity officer and to maintain a permanent contact point with continuous availability.

The new Cybersecurity Law establishes a national cybersecurity certification system for ICT products and services, allowing entities to demonstrate compliance and streamline conformity processes.

Incident Notification

The new Cybersecurity Law sets shorter deadlines for reporting significant incidents and security breaches. Entities must submit an initial notification within 24 hours, an update within 72 hours and a final report within 30 business days after the impact ends. Under NIS 1, notifications had to be made “without undue delay”, with no fixed deadlines, giving competent authorities considerable discretion.

Role of the National Cybersecurity Centre (CNCS)

The CNCS continues to act as the national coordinator for cybersecurity but now assumes additional supervisory, auditing, inspection and technical guidance functions, substantially expanding the role foreseen under NIS 1.

Supervisory intensity varies according to whether an entity is classified as essential or important. Essential Entities are subject to continuous supervision, including audits, inspections and testing, whereas Important Entities are generally subject to reactive supervision, primarily after incidents or indications of non-compliance.

Significantly higher penalties for serious or very serious infringements will be in place, setting limits of up to €10 million or 2 percent of turnover for Essential Entities and up to €7 million or 1.4 percent for Important Entities.

Entry into Force and Transitional Period

The new Cybersecurity Law enters into force 120 days after publication, which occurred on December 4, 2025. The CNCS and sectoral authorities are currently preparing technical instructions and complementary rules that will operationalise the new obligations.