Firstly, the issue concerns the lack of notification regarding the transposition of the Single Amendment Directive 2024/1233, which strengthens the European Union (EU) framework for labour migration by facilitating the admission and retention of workers from third countries.

The new rules reduce the decision period for applications for a single permit covering residence and work to 90 days and allow non-EU citizens to apply both from abroad and, for holders of a valid residence permit, from within Member States.

The transcription deadline ended on 21 May, and Portugal now has two months to report on the progress made in the meantime.

The Single Authorisation Directive strengthens protection against exploitation by enshrining the right to change employers and by requiring monitoring, inspections, complaint mechanisms, judicial recourse, and sanctions.

With regard to the Reception Conditions Directive 2024/1346, Portugal should have completed, by 12 June, the process of transposing into national law the rules ensuring that all EU countries provide adequate and comparable living conditions for applicants for international protection.

This directive also gives Member States flexibility to manage their reception systems and introduces rules to prevent and deter unauthorised secondary movements, including measures to reduce disparities between Member States' systems.

The full and timely transposition of the directive is fundamental to ensuring legal certainty and the proper functioning of the migration and asylum system, according to the European Commission, which gives the Government two months to respond.