The Council of the European Union has pushed Portugal to urgently step up investment in affordable housing and improve access to healthcare, whilst ensuring that net expenditure remains within the fiscal limits already agreed, in a statement released today, 10 July.
In recommendations issued as part of the 2026 European Semester, EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels called on the Portuguese government to strengthen access to healthcare, particularly by addressing persistent shortages of healthcare professionals.
The government was also urged to tackle “the affordability and availability of housing, notably by creating incentives for a more efficient use of the existing housing stock, including through a recalibration of the tax system”.
The Council further recommended expanding the supply of housing, including affordable and social housing, whilst strengthening the coordination and governance of housing policy alongside integrated urban planning, land-use planning and transport policies.
Portugal was also advised to take measures to safeguard the medium-term fiscal sustainability of its pension system and promote supplementary pension schemes. In addition, the Council called for improvements to the efficiency of the tax system, notably through the streamlining of tax incentives. It also urged Lisbon to improve access to venture capital and private funding, continue promoting financial literacy, and support investment in research and innovation.
The Council said Portugal should also ensure the continued implementation of reforms and investments launched under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), whilst accelerating the delivery of cohesion policy programmes. Where appropriate, these programmes could be redirected towards strategic priorities and make use of the flexibilities agreed under the mid-term review of the EU’s cohesion policy framework.
The ministers also called for continued efforts to decarbonise the transport sector, reinforce the electricity distribution network, and improve water management.
In addition, echoing previous guidance from the European Commission, the Council said Portugal should ensure that measures introduced to cushion the impact of rising energy prices remain “temporary, targeted at protecting vulnerable households or addressing the needs of energy-intensive businesses, preserve incentives for energy savings, and ensure that their budgetary cost is consistent with the commitments undertaken under the EU fiscal framework.”
Source: LUSA
Photo credit: Archive
