LISBON — Portugal's parliament on Wednesday approved the centre-right minority government's 2027 budget bill at first reading, Reuters reported. The bill passed despite opposition from the far-right party Chega, after the opposition Socialist Party abstained to avert a political crisis.
Source: Reuters via TradingView
The bill forecasts economic growth of 2.1% in 2027, a slight slowdown from the 2.3% projected for this year, Reuters said. The plan keeps the public accounts balanced this year and targets a small surplus of 0.1% of GDP next year, according to the Finance Ministry's presentation reported by the Lusa news agency.
Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento has said reducing public debt must remain the government's permanent focus, with the debt-to-GDP ratio forecast to fall below 85% next year. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government does not hold a majority, so the Socialist abstention — proposed by PS leader José Luís Carneiro after assurances on pensions, constitutional review and post-recovery-fund investment — was decisive at this stage.
The vote came after two days of general debate on 27 and 28 October held in a tense atmosphere, with housing protests and recent police charges against citizen camps dominating the wider public argument, Portugal's Demócrata newspaper reported, citing Lusa. The detailed committee stage now runs until the final overall vote scheduled for 24 November.
The budget is not law yet. Committees examine it line by line until 24 November, when parliament holds the final overall vote. With the Socialist abstention holding, approval is widely expected — but any measure passed without offsetting savings could push the accounts back into deficit, the finance minister has warned.