What is Prior Authorisation?
Projects covered
Under Article 6 of Decree-Law No. 85/2026, certain digital projects and investments are subject to Prior Authorisation.
Half-yearly or annual investment plans for information technologies.
Half-yearly or annual investment plans for information technologies.
Information technology procurements with a value exceeding 2M €.
Information technology procurements with a value exceeding 2M €.
Artificial intelligence projects.
Artificial intelligence projects.
Sovereign Cloud projects.
Sovereign Cloud projects.
Projects included in the National Data Centre Strategy.
Projects included in the National Data Centre Strategy.
Interoperability measures between Public Administration services and, where possible, with private entities.
Interoperability measures between Public Administration services and, where possible, with private entities.
Prior Authorisation Process
The process is carried out entirely in digital format through the e-avalia platform and is organised into four main stages.
The requesting entity submits the Prior Authorisation request through the e-avalia platform.
The request is assessed by the Coordination Committee for the Digital Strategy (CCED), which reviews the initiative and issues a proposed decision.
The CCED's decisions are submitted for approval to the member of the Government responsible for State Reform.
The decision is communicated to the requesting entity through the e-avalia platform.
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e-avalia
Possible Decisions
Under Article 6(2), the Coordination Committee for the Digital Strategy may adopt one of the following decisions in relation to projects submitted for Prior Authorisation:
Authorise
The project may proceed as proposed
Authorise with Conditions
The project may proceed, subject to specified conditions
Reject
The project must not proceed as proposed
Request Amendments
The project must be amended and resubmitted for reassessment
Coordinate / Integrate
The project must be coordinated with another initiative or entity
Decision Timeframe
The Coordination Committee for the Digital Strategy shall decide on Prior Authorisation requests within 10 working days. The timeframe begins on the first working day following the submission of the request. Where amendments are requested, the timeframe restarts upon resubmission of the request.