Once considered a “good pupil” of Europe, Portugal has now been rapped firmly over the knuckles for its financial homework.
Both the European Commission and the IMF have pronounced themselves far from confident with the budgetary forecasts of Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque, backed by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. Neither believes that Portugal can achieve the 2.7% deficit inscribed in the State Budget for 2015 – pointing instead to a figure closer to 3.3%, or even 3.4%.
The deficit is not the only calculation cast into doubt. Troika moneymen have also queried Albuquerque’s calculations for public debt – considering her 123.7% of GDP should be revised upwards, to 125.1% – while her forecasts for economic growth have also been called into question.
As national newspapers agree, there isn’t one economic provision for 2015 that hasn’t been revised “for the worse”.
Nonetheless both Albuquerque and Passos Coelho stand their ground, with the latter reiterating the pledge that it is a “point of honour” to get the country’s deficit down below 3% by 2015.
Accepting the “divergences” over the calculations for the next State Budget, Albuquerque told journalists that Portugal “does not negotiate with the Troika. We discuss, exchange opinions, but we don’t have to agree”, she said.
