Strasburg, France, July 8, 2025 (Lusa) — The European Commission recommended on Tuesday that Portugal intensify its efforts to enhance the efficiency of the judicial system, particularly in administrative and tax courts, as well as in regulating lobbying and promoting legislative transparency.
The 2025 Annual Rule of Law Report released the recommendations to Portugal today, under the obligations assumed in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) and the specific recommendations under the European Semester.
Among the guidelines addressed to Lisbon, the EU executive highlights the need to move forward with measures to ensure the adequacy of criminal procedural legislation, allowing for more effective management of complex criminal cases, and to step up efforts to improve the effectiveness of the judicial system, in particular administrative and tax courts.
The Commission also advocates for the adoption of clear rules for regulating lobbying, including the creation of a comprehensive public register of lobbyists and the completion of reforms to enhance transparency in the legislative process, particularly through the application of impact assessment tools.
Brussels highlights that Portugal has already taken significant steps to improve human resources in the justice system, thanks to new recruitment and legislative changes, and notes that the premature end of the previous legislature delayed some reforms, such as those related to the case allocation system, the effectiveness of complex criminal proceedings and access to judicial decisions, so these reforms still require completion.
On the other hand, the Commission noted that the level of perceived judicial independence in Portugal remains average among the general public and currently presents opportunities for growth among businesses.
The assessment also highlights that the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism (MENAC) has made some progress in its resources, with improvements in its structure and functioning, ensuring sufficient resources for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of corruption.
Regarding media pluralism and press freedom, the EU emphasises the strengthening of state funding for public service, particularly the introduction of a new model for the Lusa news agency, which ensures editorial independence, as well as the increase in state funding to €21.5 million in 2025, up from €18.1 million in 2024.
The presentation on 1 October 2024 of an action plan for the media and measures to promote job security in the media sector, reporting on the prevalence of issues related to low wages and the implementation of the collective labour agreement for the press.
The recommendations of the 2025 Annual Report on the Rule of Law aim to increase trust in institutions, promote good governance and ensure a more efficient and transparent public administration.
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