The Governments of Portugal and Spain set up a working group to boost integration in the Single European Market by cutting administrative barriers and red tape costs. The aim is to obtain concrete results for companies, particularly Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), and border regions. 

The decision was taken by the Portuguese Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion Castro Almeida and the Spanish First Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Trade and Companies Carlos Cuerpo, who met in Lisbon for the first meeting of the Luso-Spanish Strategic Forum for Competitiveness on 18 June.

This forum was set up by the joint declaration signed by both Ministers in March 2026 during the XXXVI Luso-Spanish Summit.

Castro Almeida and Carlos Cuerpo stated the need to overcome the technical, regulatory, and administrative challenges that still exist, for which they agreed on boosting administrative coordination, ensuring alignment with the EU legislation, reduce red tape costs for SMEs and increase transparency for businesses.

The two Ministers feel that Portugal and Spain have a unique opportunity to claim the Iberian Peninsula as a true laboratory for the European Union Single Market, cutting barriers and deepening integration to boost competitiveness and contribute towards a more cohesive, resilient Europe that is better prepared for global challenges.

Cooperation between development banks

A memorandum of understanding was also signed during the meeting between the Portuguese Development Bank (BPF) and the Official Credit Institute (ICO) to formalise a cooperation framework between the two institutions.

The agreement has the following among its main objectives:

• the joint promotion of the social housing and affordable rental sector, including sharing good practices and financial product
• the harmonisation of the credit risk assessment models to increase financing opportunities 
• the support of business internationalisation through the development of financial instruments, and 
• the creation of guarantee programmes for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The next ministerial meeting will be held in the last quarter of 2026 to take stock of the application of the initiatives agreed on, explore new areas of work, and continue to increase both countries’ economic integration and competitiveness.