Portugal has failed to capitalise on the opportunities provided by EU accession and has regressed in terms of economic development over the past almost quarter of a century. This column argues that this disappointing outcome is largely down to policies biased towards current consumption instead of private sector-led development. Policies that incentivise firms to grow larger, produce more sophisticated products, and exit the market faster when they fail, and efforts towards human capital accumulation by older labour force cohorts and immigrants, can help with Portugal’s convergence process.