The finance minister said the government’s actions in 2022 had lifted Portugal out of the “isolated position” of the third most indebted country in Europe, stressing that this “builds confidence”.
“The efforts we have made in 2022 will allow us to ensure that Portugal will no longer be third on the podium of the most indebted countries and that Portugal will unite a platoon that includes, in that order, Spain, France and Belgium.” declared on Wednesday evening, Fernando Medina.
The official spoke at a dinner in Funchal as part of the Madeira 500 Biggest Companies event organized by Diário de Notícias da Madeira.
“This year we will have the largest reduction in the weight of government debt in the product as there is any record,” said Fernando Medina, stressing: “We will always hear devaluation critics saying that it was the economy, that it was inflation. It’s true, whatever helps. But the truth is that if we decided to spend all the money, the debt would remain as it is.
The socialist official believed that the reduction of public debt is one of the aspects that benefit the country in the face of the current international situation, also emphasizing the geographical location as a factor of attractiveness and development, as well as a high level of employment and political and social stability.
“At the beginning of 2022, Portugal had a public debt of 125% of the product,” Medina recalled, adding that only Greece and Italy had higher debts.
“The main issue is that we will no longer have an isolated position, we will fully integrate into the averages of countries with economies much larger than the Portuguese,” he stressed.
On the other hand, the finance minister mentioned that the socialist government’s priorities for 2023 are based on supporting family income and protecting jobs, increasing investment and balancing public finances.
“Our target for 2023 is to have a primary balance of 1.6% of the product, meaning Portugal will have a surplus in its fiscal accounts if we exclude the amount of interest we have to pay,” he said. , explaining that this will reduce the public debt to 110% of the product.
“Our goal is to exit by 2026 with debt below 100% product,” he said.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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