Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso got together on Wednesday last week in Brussels and the focus could not have been anything other than Portugal’s financial adjustment programme.
In front of a panel of journalists, they made joint comments about Portugal and its future.
Passos Coelho reaffirmed his belief that Portugal will successfully complete its programme without the need of an additional bailout.
He said that Portugal’s “ambition to complete this adjustment programme in the scheduled timeframe and without an additional financial aid remains intact,” and considered this objective a matter of “honour”.
Barroso also reiterated his conviction that Portugal will successfully complete its adjustment plan but refused to speculate on whether or not the country will need a cautionary plan. “There is still a lot of work to do; it is too early to speculate,” he said.
Once again, the two leaders were on the same page. The Portuguese prime minister considered it too early for any kind of speculation about any kind of financial aid at the end of the programme.
However, both are aware that rejection of austerity measures by the Constitutional Court could be a blow to Portugal’s aspirations.
Barroso stressed that although he respects the authority of the Portuguese Constitutional Court, any kind of rejection of important austerity measures could have strong consequences on Portugal’s ability to complete the programme.
He denied, however, that the EC criticises or condemns the court’s decisions and said that it is the court’s job to check if the measures are compatible with the country’s constitution.
“The European Commission has never criticised the Constitutional Court. The EC will not consider its decisions right or wrong.”
However, if the measures are considered unconstitutional, Barroso confirmed that the government will have to find alternatives which will likely be even more “grave”.
“Portugal accepted its responsibilities with the EU and IMF. Now, at the final stage of the programme, Portugal must not allow its efforts to have been in vain,” the EC president warned.
