28/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The spokesperson for Commissioner Pedro Solbes has pointed out that the German state budgetary deficit can, in 2003, exceed the fatal 3% of GDP mark for the second year running, but has warned that Germany should brings its public debt down below the value limit in 2004. The spokesperson told Reuters that it was vital for Europe's largest economy to cut its underlying deficit, which strips out the impact of economic swings, by one percentage point this year. The German Ministry for the Economy again reduced the country's growth forecast for 2003 on Monday (+0.75% of GDP this year, then 2% in 2004). Furthermore, Portugal has reviewed its growth forecast downward predicting a growth in its GDP of between 0.25% and 0.75% in 2003 (compared to 1.25 to 2.25% according to earlier estimates).