PORTUGAL: An Introduction to Competition/European Law

Economic Overview and Legislative Developments

In 2024, the Portuguese economy registered growth of 1.7%, with an anticipated increase to 2.1% in 2025. This growth is driven by improved financial conditions, higher external demand, and increased EU fund inflows, despite ongoing geopolitical and economic risks. Inflation fell to 2.4% in 2024.

While there were no major legislative changes in the Portuguese competition landscape last year, the Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) published some soft law instruments, including the Best Practices Guide on Sustainability Agreements and Revised guidelines on the methodology for setting fines, with new guidance for assessing relevant factors such as duration and gravity of infringements.

Competition law enforcement in Portugal witnessed significant developments following two pivotal judgments by the Portuguese Constitutional Court (PCC) and another one by the Supreme Court of Justice, ruling that searches and seizure of emails based on warrants issued by public prosecutors, rather than criminal judges, violate the Portuguese Constitution. This has led to the annulment of several court decisions and the return of cases in question to the PCA for investigation without the emails. Litigation on this issue has led to several cases currently pending at the European Court of Justice for preliminary ruling based on EU law arguments. In the meantime, the PCA is adapting its strategy to mitigate risks in pending cases, including obtaining dual warrants and incentivising voluntary evidence delivery. 

PCA action

The PCA has set its priorities for 2025, focusing on the detection and investigation of anti-competitive practices. Key efforts include scrutinising public procurement and labour markets, enhancing detection capabilities with forensic IT tools and AI, and promoting the leniency programme. The PCA aims to conduct rigorous analyses of merger control and intensify monitoring of digital market developments as well as analyse the impact of AI on competition policy.

In addition, the PCA adopted infringement decisions in seven cases, applying a total amount of around EUR75 million in fines for restrictive practices and abuse of dominance. Included in these cases are alleged cartels in public hospitals tenders, no-poaching between multinational technology consulting companies, an alleged cartel in health provision services, vertical restrictions from an HVAC company that fixed prices for after-sales services and shared markets, an association of condominiums for price fixing in the payment services sector, and an association in the audiovisual market. SIBS Group was fined almost EUR14 million for abusing its dominant position by tying access to its payment schemes to the obligation of using its processing services. The investigation was initiated ex officio within the supervisory powers of the PCA.

Merger control

The PCA received 85 merger control filings in 2024 – a slight increase compared to the 78 in 2023. In total, the PCA has issued 102 decisions in 2024, 17 of these on notifications filed the previous year. Out of the total number of decisions, eight were decisions of inapplicability, four were cleared subject to commitments and one merger in the telco was prohibited, although the market post-transaction would have had four players and the target operator held a market share around 3%.

Judicial action

Following the ECJ’s ruling in case of Banco BPN/BIC and others (No C-298/22) in the context of a standalone information exchange in the banking sector, the Portuguese Competition Court confirmed the PCA’s infringement. On appeal, the Lisbon Court of Appeal (LCA) decided in February 2025 that the case had reached the statute of limitations. Because the Public Prosecutor and the PCA contested this decision, it is not yet final.

The LCA confirmed the PCA’s 2017 infringement decision against Portuguese energy company EDP and retailer Sonae for concluding a non-compete agreement. In a case that also reached the ECJ, Energias de Portugal and Others (Case C-331/21), the LCA dismissed EDP’s and Sonae’s appeals, confirming the 2020 Portuguese Competition Court decision, which had reduced by 10% the fine imposed by the PCA to EUR34.4 million.

Also involving EDP, the LCA’s ruling (2023) upholding the PCA’s infringement decision against EDP Produção for abuse of dominant position in the secondary regulation band market (2019) has become definitive in June 2024. The PCA had imposed a fine of EUR48 million but, under appeal, the LCA reduced it to EUR40 million. This remains the largest abuse of dominant position fine confirmed by national courts.

Private enforcement actions continue to grow in Portugal, with litigation increasing more recently due to the above-mentioned information exchange case in the banking sector and hub-and-spoke cases in the retail sector. While the existence of overcharges has so far been recognised, the amounts have been lower than those claimed by plaintiffs. Within the European Commission’s decision in the Truck Cartel case, the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice issued its first ruling in a civil action for compensation for damages caused by an antitrust infringement. This ruling confirmed the LCA’s judgment on key issues with impact on the quantification of damages, including the permissibility of cumulating currency depreciation adjustments with late payment interest and the estimation of the overcharge generated by the infringement. The Supreme Court upheld a 5% overcharge estimate, based on judicial presumption and comparative decisions from other European courts.

State aid

In May 2024, the European Commission amended the state aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) to prolong by six months certain provisions of the TCTF that address persisting market disruptions, particularly in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. Under the TCTF, the European Commission approved a EUR1 billion Portuguese scheme to support strategic investments for the production of equipment necessary to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy through direct grants.