18/07/2017 (Agence Europe) – On his visit to Portugal on Tuesday 18 July, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, said that he was confident in Portugal's economic health. “The reduction of the deficit in Portugal is sustainable and the improvement in public finances solid”, he said, AFP reports. He added that the Commission's recommendation to end the excessive deficit procedure in place against Portugal had not been made “on a whim”. In mid-June, the Ecofin Council approved the recommendation (see EUROPE 11810). Although the Commission's latest forecast predicted 1.8% growth in Portuguese GDP in 2017, the Commission also said that this would “probably be above 2.5% of GDP this year”. (LT)