PORTUGAL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Rogério Alves, Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, Ana Reis Mota and Lua Mota Santos, Rogério Alves & Associados (RA)
in Article 37, paragraph 1 of the same law, which prescribes a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of no less than 100 days for using grants or subsidies for purposes other than their intended use. If the loss or undue advantage related to the misuse of EU funds amounts to more than EUR10,000 but less than EUR100,000, as stated in paragraph 2 of the new Article 37-A, the punishment will instead be up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 240 days. Furthermore, according to paragraph 3 of Article 37-A, this misconduct will also be subject to penalties if it arises from an omission that violates duty of office responsibilities. This criminalisation is a result of transposing Directive (EU) 2017/1371, which addresses fraud impacting the EU’s financial interests. Consequently, the rel - evance of this legal provision for the juris - diction of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is significant, as noted in Article 4 of Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 and Arti - cle 3, paragraph 2, point (c), subparagraph (iii) of the Directive. • The administrative offence of the misuse of EU funds of a lesser amount: The newly introduced Article 72-A of Decree-Law No 28/84, established by Law No 4/2024 and titled “Misuse of European Union Funds of a Lesser Amount”, defines an administrative offence. This offence is committed when an individual uses a legally obtained benefit – whether through an act or omission violating their duties – derived from EU funds (exclud - ing those from VAT resources) for unintended purposes, leading to a loss or advantage of less than EUR10,000. The penalties for this administrative offence range from EUR5,000 to EUR20,000. These changes reflect a significant improvement in the legal framework governing the use of EU
funds, ensuring stricter accountability and com - pliance. Amendment to the Penal Code by Law No 15/2024, of 29 January 2024 Law No 15/2024, of 29 January 2024, introduced Article 176-C, which prohibits so-called sexual conversion practices for LGBT+ individuals, criminalising acts aimed at altering, limiting or repressing sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. This changes Law No 38/2018, of August 7 2018, which “establishes the right to self-determination of gender identity and gender expression and the right to protect each person’s sexual characteristics”, as well as the Penal Code. Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 11 April 2024 Directive (EU) 2024/1203, enacted on 11 April 2024 by the European Parliament and the Coun - cil, introduces robust updates to EU environmen - tal protection laws, focusing on stricter criminal penalties for serious environmental violations. This Directive replaces previous legislation, expanding the scope of environmental offenc - es, implementing stringent penalties and offer - ing enhanced support for environmental defend - ers, alongside improved enforcement tools for authorities, namely by approving the following. • The Directive increases the catalogue of crim - inal environmental offences from nine to 20. Newly defined offences include illicit traffick - ing of timber, unlawful ship recycling, illegal water abstraction, significant breaches of EU chemical regulations and activities linked to invasive species. • Member states must impose substantial penalties for environmental crimes. Indi -
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