The European Commission stated that when calculating Portugal's deficit, the costs of capital restructuring for the country's banks will not be included. As Portugal must continue with the international bailout program initiated in 2011, the country must keep its fiscal deficit below 5.5% by 2013.
Last month, Portugal indicated that due to the need to inject 700 million euros (966 million USD) into the capital restructuring of its banking sector, its fiscal deficit for 2013 would remain at 5.5%. Therefore, Portugal requested that European decision-making bodies exclude this portion of funding when calculating the deficit ratio, and today the European Commission provided a corresponding response. In the latest report from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Commission regarding the 78 billion euro bailout for the country, the European Commission confirmed that the target of a 5.5% deficit ratio is achievable.
