Strasbourg, France – The European Commission announced today that Portugal’s medium-term budget plan, with spending targets between 2025 and 2028, is in compliance with the new European Union budgetary rules, allowing for a “solid budgetary situation.”
“In terms of the average growth of net expenditure, Portugal respected the reference trajectory that was provided to Portugal, with an annual average increase of 4.5%, and therefore, in general, [the plan] complies with the requirements” of the new European Union (EU) economic governance framework, said the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis in an interview with the Lusa news agency and other international media.
On the day it presents Brussels’ assessment of Lisbon’s medium-term plan, at the margins of the plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, the official emphasized: “It is worth noting that Portugal has, indeed, a very strong budgetary position.”
Thus, “throughout the duration of the plan [2025-2028], Portugal’s budget is expected to maintain a surplus, which certainly constitutes an indication of a solid budgetary situation and, correspondingly, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to decrease significantly,” highlighted the official responsible for “An Economy that Works for People” in the European executive.
The European Commission today released its assessment of the first medium-term budget plan with targets for expenses and investments and reforms, sent by Lisbon to Brussels in mid-October, under the EU’s new budgetary rules.
The Portuguese plan was one of the 21 evaluated and one of the 20 approved, as the Dutch plan raised concerns.
(26/11/2024)