Costa denies having promised additional measures to Brussels – Daily News – Lisbon

The prime minister said that his government, through a note that will be issued soon, “will undo these confusions”

the prime minister rejected on Monday the existence of any changes to the Stability and says that “there is not any additional measures.” Speaking to Lusa, António Costa said that his Government through a note that will be issued soon, “will undo these confusions”.

“There is no change to the Stability and such as I said today, there is not any additional measures, “said Mr Costa.

in the letter sent today to the European Commission in the case of Portugal and Brussels on the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) registered by the Portuguese in 2015, the finance minister, Mário Centeno, refers to a structural adjustment of the country by 0.6 percentage points and not, as stated in the stability program, 0.4 percentage points of GDP.

This data has indicted that, beyond the call “cativações pad” for the fulfillment of the 2016 deficit, the executive next year, will be prepared to make an additional fiscal consolidation effort.

However, an “official note of clarification” of the executive, to which the Lusa agency had access, refers that the letter today sent by the Portuguese Government to the European Commission the phrase to the structural adjustment in 2017 “has raised misinterpretations it is urgent to clarify “

for the Government, the phrase that has raised controversy -. and contained in the annex to the letter sent by the finance minister to the European Commission -” does not imply any change with respect to commitments already previously assumed in the stability program presented by the Government in April. “

” the adjustment compatible with the 0.6% referred to [in the letter] results from the combination of the adjustment of 0.4% foreseen in the program stability with the 0.2% margin of flexibility to finance the reforms presented in the national reform program, “explains the Government on the same note of clarification.

” Indeed, the treaties grant this margin of flexibility Member States which are not subject to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) to finance structural reforms. Portugal, as provided for already in the stability program, want to use a margin of 0.2% already in 2017 due to close the EDP at the end of 2016, “it is noted in a moment.

executive also cites the stability program itself, which explicitly states that “Portugal should benefit from the Treaty margins of flexibility compatible with the financing of structural reforms without jeopardizing the medium-term balance of public accounts [Stability Programme, 2016 page 15] “.

that is, the Government argues in conclusion, therefore” it is clear that there are no commitments for further austerity measures or 2016 or 2017 “.