European Commission sees a “fiscal improvement” in Portugal
"As for fiscal trajectory and structural adjustment, the number I received from the Finance minister show some improvements", stated the European Commission vice-President, Dombrovskis.
The European Commission vice-President, Dombrovskis, was in Portugal this Thursday, and analyzed the numbers of the Portuguese economy with the Finance minister, Mário Centeno. In an interview to the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios, he calls off the “risk of significant deviation” from Brussels’ goals, as stated in November, and says the numbers he received “show a fiscal improvement”.
“In terms of fiscal trajectory and structural adjustment, the numbers I received from the Finance minister show some improvements. We will probably see, in May, some other better fiscal forecasts than the Fall forecasts”, Dombrovskis states, while highlighting the positive evolution in reducing unemployment and NPL.
“Mário Centeno explained to me that both 2017 and 2018 results could be better than our Fall forecasts”, Dombrovskis discloses. He added: “Yet, we will only see this in May”, recalling that CGD’s recapitalization is still to be accounted for.
And when he is asked to make recommendations to Portugal, EC’s vice-President says he believes the country should promote “indefinite contracts, including a revision of the legal framework” and also that “in order to sustain the economic comeback, it is important to assure productivity grows”.
