On Monday, Finance Minister Joao Liao stressed that the measures to support the economy and health adopted in December due to the exacerbation of Covid-19 in the country “do not change the forecast” of economic growth of 4.8% in 2021. .
“Portugal has managed to resist this stage of the epidemic well and we have not had to impose measures that have a significant impact on the economy, and therefore it is expected to be valued at 4.8% [de crescimento do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB)] What the government expected is coming true,” the Minister of State and Finance announced, speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels.
The official stressed, in statements he made at the entrance to the Eurogroup meeting, that this budget support approved at the end of 2021 “did not change the outlook because the Portuguese economy managed to resist this stage of the epidemic very well.”
“We had to take some budgetary actions to further strengthen the SNS and more spending on health, in particular, on the very comprehensive covid-19 tests in Portugal, but in terms of economic growth prospects, we hope that the results will be 4.8% “, Joao Liao emphasized, also referring to measures to support the economy.
Specifically, “in terms of public debt, we will have a historical decline, from 135% to 127%, as Portugal approaches other countries,” the minister estimated.
Regarding the deficit, Joao Liao said that “it will also be slightly lower than expectations, and for the sixth time, the government will meet the planned budget targets, which is fundamental to the country’s credibility and financing conditions.”
“The indicators we have show that [Portugal] It will be able to reach 4.8%, which is a noticeable recovery, which adds to the growth this year, will rise by about 11% in two years.”
In the state budget proposal for 2022, released last October, the government estimated that the Portuguese economy should grow by 4.8% in 2021 and 5.5% in 2022, upward revisions compared to expectations in the stabilization program issued in April (4.0). % for this year and 4.9% for 2022).
In 2020, the first year marked by the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Portuguese economy contracted by 8.4%.
The public deficit is expected to stand at 4.3% of GDP in 2021 and fall to 3.2% in 2022, while the unemployment rate will fall to 6.5% next year, “to reach the lowest value since 2003,” according to the budget Proposed country for the year. 2022.
Public debt, long considered by analysts and rating agencies as the Achilles heel of the Portuguese economy, is expected to fall to 126.9% of GDP this year and 122.8% next year.
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