In this context, the Minister believes that Portugal can avoid a deficit, counting on the response to the storms and the impact of the war in the Middle East.
“Against all expectations, we presented a surplus of 0.7% in 2025, and it is this result that allowed us to give the response that we gave to the effect of the storms and that we are giving to the conflict in Iran,” said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, at the opening of a training course for more than 150 managers from the State Business Sector, organized in Lisbon between the Ministry of Finance and the Portuguese Institute of Corporate Governance (IPCG).
“Portugal continues to show a very solid and sustainable budgetary trajectory,” the Government believes that “it will be possible to reach the end of the year with a budget balance around zero, preventing the country from registering a deficit,” he stated.
The Finance Minister’s statement comes after the 2026 Annual Progress Report (APR), submitted to the European Commission on 30 April, projected a zero budget balance for this year, instead of a surplus of 0.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and after Miranda Sarmento admitted on 26 March the possibility of registering a “small deficit” in 2026.