Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
Lisbon City Council Simplifies Urban Licensing
12 May 2020 – The Lisbon City Council is in the process of implementing a measure to simplify the urban licensing process. The municipal government will approximately double the number of engineers and architects working with inspections to speed up licensing times.
Lisbon City Council’s Town Planning Councillor, Ricardo Veludo, explained that the municipality will now essentially limit itself to verifying documentation and the terms of responsibility of the project authors, as opposed to “checking the content and compliance with technical rules and their compatibility with the previously approved architectural project.”
Mr Veludo added that Portuguese architects and engineers “deserve the public authorities’ trust regarding the project quality and regulatory standards.”
The municipality also emphasized that the measures are intended to complement the digitalisation of urban licensing processes.
Original Story: Economia Online / Lusa
Translation/Summary: Richard D. Turner