Marcelo aligns with Government in response to sanctions – TVI24

A little surprised and not very concerned, the President responded to the confirmation of the sanctions process Portugal believing what is right there will be a zero penalty. And it is with the Government in defense against those penalties because, remember, the European Commission raised “doubts” regarding the budget execution this year, or give “clues” about the way forward.

Unlike Spain, subject to the same process “Portugal has government functions and there does not part of the commission – could be but there is no – questions about how is going to run budget. the Commission has made no doubt. it’s hard Portuguese Government to be himself to raise questions before a peaceful position of the Commission, “he told reporters Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, about eight hours after the Ecofin Council of the ad.

it is correct the government’s strategy of not having more measures or a plan B? Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says that so far, there is no evidence of budgetary slippage so although not say explicitly aligns with the defense of Antonio team Costa and Mario Centeno

the strategy Let’s be clear:. the Commission has not given clues to now that pointed to tell the government ‘look, the 2015 accounts exceeded by 0.2%, but still above 2016 we have the risk of not being completed below the 3% deficit. So far the Commission did not say that. So it’s very difficult to be the government itself to say … There are no problems here that the commission does not find and that the numbers so far do not allow find (by the end of May and June, in relation to costs). They do not point to budgetary slippage. There may be in the future? No one knows, but so far there has not been. “

Decision” technical and political “reveals” stubbornness “

Since the threat began to hover Marcelo anticipates that, in the end, the penalty will ultimately be zero “from the beginning, said she appreciated me evidence the following:. Europe in the current situation could go perfectly eto a gender Solomonic situation like that Solomon divided the children into two, which is to apply a penalty and the penalty is zero. “

in other words, do not fail to apply the rules, even” targeted consider absurd unfair, counterproductive, but then to make up, [say] do not worry because it is zero. “

“So to me it would not surprise me at all that on the 20th [of July], after all this, we got what we already had very good people considered likely, as a matter of principle no sanction; as a matter of substance the penalty is zero or virtually zero “

The President even described the question of” technical and policy. “Brussels” not out there “the four difference in the 10th from the previous government’s target of 2.8% and the final result without Banif effect of 3.2% in the 2015 deficit target is” stubborn in the understanding that makes the deficit “I lamented.

the Minister of Finance of Germany , Wolfgang Schauble, came already argue that sanctions are are a punishment, but rather a form of” encouraging. “Portugal and Spain to adopt measures

(Des) patriotic concerns

Asked by journalists about whether is not so apprehensive about the final decision, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa replied:” I am not concerned in this sense: I think when I hear leaders of the committee speak in zero penalty hypothesis is because it is not an idea so absurd that may occur “

Fleeing then the answer on the political edginess. that the issue has caused in Portugal, with the PSD to blame the current Executive, the head of State was keen to highlight the drive that was politically in the approval of parliamentary texts against sanctions, even with two versions of this conviction. “I said at the time ‘is not great, but it’s possible.’ There are many parliaments across Europe” to do the same as ours, we chose to highlight.

The rest, concerns “diversities that are part of the logic of things:. Opposition is opposition, government is government Opposition is not more patriotic than the government or the government is more patriotic than the opposition, “he shot even in a ear tug implicit to debate of the state last week the nation.