The CJEU slams the brakes on the national legislator

Cristina Lopes Curto, Senior Associate at PARES, has written an opinion piece for Jornal Económico (JE Advisory) on the CJEU judgment of 17 September 2026 (Joined Cases C-266/25 and C-267/25), which held that the Portuguese regime for the provisional lifting of the suspensive effect in pre-contractual litigation concerning EU-funded projects is incompatible with European Union law.

In her words: "The CJEU once again reminds us that the much-desired speed of administrative action has its limits — and one of them is precisely the effectiveness of judicial protection, which is only guaranteed when the practical effect of the judicial challenge is safeguarded before the conclusion and performance of the contract render the consequences of the challenged award decision irreversible, and always subject to a genuine judicial weighing of the interests at stake."