Portugal

What the government has said

“Other rights, namely the right to privacy, cannot be compressed disproportionately, unjustifiably or unnecessarily.”Ministry of Justice, Radio Renascenca, 29 September 2025, translated from Portuguese

Receipt: Assembleia da Republica resolution 289/XVII, adopted 19 Sep 2025

Parliament demands a judicial warrant for any detection. In Council the government called the mandatory text the right direction (Sept 2025) and is generally satisfied with the June 2026 compromise, minus grooming.

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 21 MEPs elected in Portugal, 7 voted to reject it, 12 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 2 did not vote.

• 7 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 12 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 0 abstained
• 2 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Portugal

Minister

Rita Alarcão Júdice, Minister of Justice since 2 Apr 2024, reappointed on 5 Jun 2025. Her ministry spoke for the government on this file on 29 Sep 2025

Ministry in charge

Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Internal Administration (Luís Neves, minister since 23 Feb 2026)

Permanent representation

Ambassador Pedro Costa Pereira, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Mónica Lisboa, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

National parliament

Assembleia da República: Resolution 289/XVII of 19 Sep 2025 asks the government to accept detection only under a judicial warrant

Source: www.portugal.gov.pt/pt/gc25/governo/composicao

Timeline

1. 28 September 2026Correction: Rita Alarcão Júdice has been Minister of Justice since 2 April 2024 and was reappointed on 5 June 2025; until today this record gave 5 June 2025 as the start of her term. source
2. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Portugal: yes.
3. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Portugal: 7 for rejection, 12 against, 0 abstained, 2 did not vote. source
4. Since 10 Jun 2026Recorded as unclear. Receipt: Assembleia da Republica resolution 289/XVII, adopted 19 Sep 2025 source
5. 23 February 2026Luís Neves becomes Minister of Internal Administration, one of the two ministries behind the Council file. source
6. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Portugal: yes.

Sources

• Assembleia da Republica resolution 289/XVII, adopted 19 Sep 2025 (receipt)
• Ministry of Justice statement, 29 Sep 2025 (RR)
• Council minutes, 12 Sep 2025 and 10 Jun 2026, via netzpolitik.org
• Permanent Representation of Portugal to the EU, organisation chart
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from