"I'm pleased to meet with the Minister [Joaquim Miranda Sarmento] this afternoon. In general, I think the budgetary situation in Portugal is good. I'm not worried", said Paolo Gentiloni, upon arriving at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, at the 'debut' of the Portuguese Minister of Finance.

"I note the position expressed by the Minister, but I think we have good prospects for good cooperation, both with regard to the Recovery and Resilience Plan and the budgetary trajectory of Portugal", added the European Commissioner, when asked about statements regarding the deficit and debt left by the previous socialist government.

The Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, makes his debut today in Brussels for a Eurogroup meeting, at which he will present the "priorities of the new Government's economic and financial policy" to his eurozone counterparts.

At what is the first Eurogroup meeting he has participated in after taking office in early April, the Portuguese minister responsible for the area will "present the priorities of the economic and financial policy of the new Government of Portugal", according to the meeting agenda.

No statements are planned by the Minister of Finance to Portuguese journalists in Brussels. However, a source from the Ministry of Finance stressed that the minister will present his eurozone counterparts with the "ambitious programme of structural reform of the Portuguese economy" and the "commitment to maintaining balanced accounts and reducing public debt".

At the beginning of May, in a summary of the budget execution in the first three months of the year, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento revealed that the deficit and debt unpaid 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 dropped 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 this almost 300 million deficit the increase in debts to suppliers - expenditure that was incurred but has not yet been paid to companies - between January and March, in the amount of 300 million, we actually have a deficit of around 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.

However, the statements were denied by his predecessor, the socialist Fernando Medina.

Earlier, in mid-April, the Government approved, in the Council of Ministers, a generalised reduction in IRS, in a "significant 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 1.5 billion euros compared to 2023.

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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