This Thursday, the government considered the European Central Bank’s (ECB) inflation forecast, already close to 3% in 2024, positive and maintained its critical stance towards a consistent policy of raising interest rates.
At a press conference at the end of the Council of Ministers, Presidential Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva was asked about the fact that the ECB signaled today that this could be the last increase in the three base rates, as inflation in 2024 is expected to be around 3 % in the eurozone.
In her response, the Presidency Minister began by mentioning that she had not yet had the opportunity to hear statements from ECB President Christine Lagarde after that central bank decided to proceed with its tenth consecutive increase in three base rates. , this time by 25 points.
“The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance have already made comments several times. [as subidas dos juros pelo BCE]. But, naturally, it is nice to know that inflation is already on track [descendente]. In many countries it is approaching the value indicated by the ECB as a guideline for the coming years,” emphasized Mariana Vieira da Silva.
On the executive side, according to Mariana Vieira da Silva, with the new ECB interest rate hike, “the response already approved by the government” in the previous legislative session will be improved.
“And we will add other measures to this answer, because we know that, along with health, housing is another of the biggest problems of the Portuguese. Now is the time to evaluate our measures,” he said, hinting at the diplomas that the Government intends to approve next week.
Regarding the ECB’s policy of raising interest rates, the Minister of the Presidency refused to give further assessments regarding the previous position already taken by the Portuguese leadership.
“On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced that from today until next week at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers, we will approve diplomas designed to respond in a new way to the needs of Portuguese families in the context of housing credit.” , he emphasized.
According to Mariana Vieira da Silva, income support has already covered “more than 185 thousand families.”
“And we expect that the measures taken next week may be a response to the new context and an improvement on the diploma that we approved before the summer,” he added.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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