Portugal may well end its financial adjustment programme on May 17. This forecast came from the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Othmar Karas, who, in simple terms, will be responsible for the document that the EP is creating for the four countries aided by the troika.
Speaking at a press conference in Lisbon, Karas said: “I am sure that Portugal can end its programme on May 17, a week before the European elections.”
The EP Vice-President expressed his confidence that the EU is now more prepared than it was in the past to solve problems like the economic crisis.
For Karas, Portugal is showing “signs of economic recovery” which will bring the country out of crisis. He acknowledged, however, that the Portuguese people have “had to sacrifice a lot” to help the country through its tough times and that they should not be made to make such sacrifices again.
The Austrian politician also admitted that the troika is not a singular entity and that there are different institutions within the group (International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank) with “different priorities and solutions”. Therefore, a balance must be found between “budgetary consolidation, structural reforms and employment and growth incentives”.
Karas arrived in Portugal as part of a delegation of European MPs from the Economic and Monetary Committee of the European Parliament alongside the Portuguese politicians Diogo Feio, José Manuel Fernandes, Elisa Ferreira, Ana Gomes and Marisa Matias.
