Portugal’s assistant secretary of state for the budget said today that the Portuguese economy “hasn’t taken off” and is still “clearly below” its potential despite the “unequivocal successes” of recent years, particularly in terms of internationalisation. “Despite the unequivocal successes in internationalisation and others, we are still far from what we want to be as a country. The economy has progressed, but it hasn’t taken off. We are on the intermediate plateau of development, clearly below the top position we are aiming for,” José Maria Brandão de Brito said in a speech at the Millennium Portugal Exportador event today in Santa Maria da Feira – a municipality recently in the news for attracting a new Lufthansa repair plant expected to create 700 jobs.
