In what is the first Eurogroup meeting he has participated in since taking office in early April, the Portuguese minister of tutelage will "present the priorities of the new Government of Portugal's economic and financial policy", according to the meeting agenda.

The meeting of the euro finance ministers will start at 3 pm (local time, one hour earlier in Lisbon) with a discussion on the macroeconomic and budgetary situation of the single currency countries, in which the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, will participate.

This will be followed by debates, in the inclusive format (with all European Union countries), on the Banking Union and the conclusion of the Union on the Capital Market and a dinner on this last topic, in which the situation of savings at European level will be discussed.

There has already been a previous Eurogroup meeting in these six weeks of the new executive, after the elections of 10 March that gave victory to the Democratic Alliance (PSD, CDS, PPM), but Portugal was represented by the Secretary of State for the Budget, José Maria Brandão de Brito, since the Minister of Finance was in Lisbon for the discussion on the Government's programme.

In mid-April, the Government approved, in the Council of Ministers, a generalised reduction in IRS, in a "strong reduction" with a "global value that amounts to a reduction of 1,539 million euros compared to 2023", said Luís Montenegro when presenting the measure.

However, there were several criticisms of the total amount in question in the measure, - since it takes into account what was already in force from the previous government of António Costa --, to which the executive responded by stating that it is "true and undeniable" that the reductions in IRS will lead to a cut of 1,500 million euros compared to 2023.

Already at the beginning of May, in a summary on the budget execution in the first three months of the year, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento revealed that the deficit and debt not paid by the previous socialist government reached 600 million euros in March.

"In January there was a surplus, a surplus, of almost 1.2 billion euros. This surplus fell to around 800 million in February, and in March it reached a deficit of almost 300 million", said the minister.

According to Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, the budget execution reached a deficit of 259 million euros in March, with debts to suppliers increasing by around 300 million euros.

"If we add to these almost 300 million deficit the increase in debts to suppliers - expenditure that was made, but which has not yet been paid to companies - between January and March, in the amount of 300 million, we have, in reality, a deficit of around almost 600 million euros", resulting from "increases in expenditure and many measures that were taken in recent months and some of them after the elections of 10 March", added the Minister of Finance.

The statements were, however, denied by his counterpart, the socialist Fernando Medina.

This Eurogroup meeting takes place two days before the European Commission releases its spring macroeconomic forecasts for the eurozone and the European Union.

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