Portugal Plans Audit Overhaul and Digital Push to Unstick Public Works

A heated exchange between ministries, mayors and the Tribunal de Contas has erupted into the open, and the debate goes far beyond bureaucratic turf wars. At stake are billions of euros in recovery money, the credibility of Portugal’s public-procurement system and the everyday experience of citizens waiting for new schools, hospitals and rail lines.

Pressure mounts as construction sites stand still

For months, local authorities from Braga to Faro have complained that roads, sewage plants and social-housing projects are languishing because contracts remain unsigned. With inflation ramping up building costs, each week of delay means tenders have to be rewritten, rebudgeted and sometimes abandoned altogether. In a recent parliamentary hearing, Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz pointed a finger at the Tribunal de Contas, arguing that the court’s pre-award checks amount to an "administrative chokehold" on urgently needed works.

The Tribunal de Contas defends its watchdog role

The court’s president, José Tavares, responded in an unusually forceful statement, insisting that the institution "will not serve as a scapegoat" for project slippage. According to internal statistics released by the court, the average turnaround for a visto prévio—the mandatory legality review for contracts above €750,000—has been cut from 38 to 24 days since 2021. Tavares added that more than 90% of files sail through on the first submission; the remainder bounce back because the contracting body failed to justify direct awards or omitted anti-corruption safeguards required under Law 30/2021.

A legal tightrope between speed and scrutiny

Portugal is one of a handful of EU countries where the supreme audit institution must clear large public contracts before signature. That preventive model, enshrined in Article 45 of the constitution, was hardened after the banking-sector scandals of the early 2010s. Critics—chiefly construction lobbies and some municipal leaders—argue that the rule made sense during the bailout era but has become counter-productive now that €16.6 B in Recovery and Resilience Facility grants must be spent by 2026. Supporters counter that, without the Tribunal’s filter, the state would be exposed to overruns and litigation similar to the PPP fiascos that still cost taxpayers €1 M a day in shadow tolls.

Data show multiple culprits, not just auditors

An analysis by the public-policy think tank IPP found that only 4% of the average delay in infrastructure timelines can be attributed to the audit phase. Most holdups occur earlier, during environmental permitting, or later, when losing bidders challenge awards in court. Even so, perception matters. "When a ribbon-cutting is postponed, citizens see a stalled crane, not a stack of legal briefs," notes IPP economist Susana Peralta. She warns that turning the Tribunal into a political target "risks undermining trust in the very institution that guards public money".

Brussels keeps an eye on the calendar

The European Commission has privately urged Lisbon to accelerate procurement cycles without weakening compliance. In July the Commission approved a technical-assistance programme to digitalise the Tribunal’s workflow and integrate it with the national e-tendering portal BASE. That upgrade, partially financed through the Technical Support Instrument, is supposed to cut audit turnaround to a median of 15 days by next summer. Failure to meet intermediate milestones could put the disbursement of the next €2.5 B tranche at risk, according to a senior EU official familiar with the file.

Municipalities seek pragmatic compromises

Several city halls are exploring framework agreements that would bundle small projects under a single master contract, thereby avoiding repeated filings with the Tribunal de Contas. Others want to raise the audit-threshold to €1.5 M, arguing that inflation has made the current cap obsolete. The court says it would not oppose legislative tweaks as long as accountability is preserved. Meanwhile, Porto’s metro expansion illustrates what is possible: by submitting impeccably documented contracts and liaising with auditors in real time, the operator obtained a green light for a €379 M tranche in just 11 working days.

What to watch in the coming weeks

Parliament is expected to vote before Christmas on a package that could reshape the audit landscape, including potential penalties for entities that repeatedly file incomplete dossiers. Whether the government can pass the reform without eroding the Tribunal’s independence will be a litmus test for Portugal’s institutional balance. For citizens tired of detours and scaffolding, the more immediate question is simpler: when will the cranes start moving again? Until the political and procedural knots are untied, the skyline may remain stubbornly static, and both the blame game and the price tag will keep rising.