Brussels, 02/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants the next instalment of aid to Portugal as part of its €78 billion bailout by the troika (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), explained the president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, on Monday, giving his agreement to the alternative measures under consideration by the Portuguese government to achieve the budget targets laid down in the country's structural adjustment plan while responding to the population's discontent (expressed in the form of protests several times over the past few days (see EUROPE 10695)).
Barroso said the Commission had already given its approval to the replacement measures put forward by the Portuguese government, but he refused to given any details (the measures are to be officially unveiled on 15 October when the country's draft 2013 budget is published). After doing a U-turn on his plan to increase workers' national insurance contributions and reduce employers' contributions, prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho said that the government was preparing new measures, including income tax rises for the private sector and extra capital gains taxes and inheritance tax. Barroso said he was optimistic that eurozone countries would go along with the Commission's recommendation to release the next instalment of aid for Portugal on 8 October (at the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg). On 11 September this year, the troika decided to postpone until 2013 the target of cutting the deficit to 4.5% in GDP (and 5% in 2012) because of the protracted crisis and falling tax revenue. (SP/transl.fl)