Centeno rejects “liminarmente” the restructuring of the Portuguese debt – Jornal de Negócios – Portugal

The minister of Finance, Mário Centeno, said on Tuesday, November 8, that “opposes” a restructuring of Portuguese public debt. Speaking in Brussels before a committee of the European Parliament the purpose of the risk of suspension of structural funds which hangs over the country, Centeno said that Portugal has to download the weight of public debt, which represents values of the order of 130% of GDP, adding that the best way to achieve this is through primary surpluses, that is, the State run forth Budgets with less expense than revenue, removing from the calculation the interest expense and amortization of debt.

Submit budget surpluses is something that requires a lot of effort oa in the country but it is a trajectory with which Portugal is committed, added Mário Centeno, after you mentioned that, this year, the Portuguese State will present the largest primary surplus (1.9% of GDP) and the lowest budget deficit in nominal (2.4 percent) of the last 40 years.

the statements of The minister arise after yesterday the president of the Eurogroup have driven away the possibility of extending to Portugal the process of relief of the conditions of payment of the loans europe that is being negotiated for Greece. “we have Not discussed, nor will we discuss, because Portugal is able to manage its debt. And we are not certain that it should be so in the case of Greece, this is the big difference. Let’s not confuse” situations, said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, at the end of the monthly meeting of the Finance ministers of the Euro Area (Eurogroup).

Dijsselbloem responded to Portuguese journalists that clashed with recent statements of Rye. Speaking in the Assembly of the Republic, during the discussion, in general, of the proposal of the State Budget for 2017, the minister of Finance said to be “required that Portugal has a reduction of the interest rate that it pays on its debt. This discussion is a discussion that can only be taken in the european context”. On the occasion, the minister also said that the Government is willing to have this discussion and that it has done so on the european plan, having been praised by the Left Bloc, the party has insisted on the restructuring of the debt.

Already this afternoon, the minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, said that “Portugal does not intend to renegotiate its debt, in the sense of asking their creditors a logic any of a cut of the ‘stock’ of debt due. Portugal does not intend to raise b y itself any process of restructuring systemic debt”. Santos Silva was speaking at a joint hearing of parliamentary committees of European Affairs and Budget, Finance, and Administrative reform, the purpose of the proposed State Budget for 2017, and answered a question from the CDS-PP, refers to the Lusa news agency.