Lisbon, Jan. 8, 2026 (Lusa) - The PSD/CDS-PP government estimates that the Portuguese economy grew by "around 2%" and that there was a budget surplus of 0.3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025, the prime minister announced on Thursday.
In response to the CDS-PP during the fortnightly debate in parliament, Luís Montenegro also announced that the government estimated a reduction in public debt to "around 90%" of GDP last year.
These estimates for 2025 were shared by the prime minister at the end of the fortnightly debate, after the parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP, Paulo Núncio, asked him if he could give the chamber some final definitive figures on growth, budget balance and debt.
In response to the CDS-PP, the prime minister pointed out that only "around March" will there be "more reliable figures" for 2025, but said that all the data points to "economic growth of around 2%, give or take a little, around 2%".
Luís Montenegro commented that many "doubted that this growth rate was possible", complaining about "half a year of great pessimism surrounding the government, not within the government, but around it".
"What I can tell you, therefore, is this: economic growth of around 2%, a budget result that will be no worse than our estimate of 0.3%, that is our forecast, we will see if we will surprise our country again or not, and public debt at around 90% of our GDP, perhaps a little above, but at the threshold of 90%," he said.
The prime minister said that these three results, combined, give Portugal predictability, stability and confidence, which is a good sign for domestic and foreign investors, and that this will allow us to pay better salaries, which will also allow us to safeguard the welfare state.
Also, in response to the parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP, who questioned him about the "new return law", Luís Montenegro reported that the government had received "around 120 submissions" regarding the proposal put up for public discussion.
"We will now analyse them, and in the coming weeks we will refer them to parliament for the final decision on a new return law that aims to be more agile, more efficient, with more appropriate deadlines, in order to be effective. Because there can only be a real immigration policy if there are consequences for those who fail to comply with that policy," he added.
Paulo Núncio defended an immigration policy with "rigour on entry, humanism on integration" and criticised the fact that, under the current law, Portugal is "one of the countries in Europe that returns the fewest illegal immigrants to their countries of origin: less than 5%".
On the economic and financial front, the parliamentary leader of the CDS-PP considered that "the year 2025 went well for Portugal and went well for the Portuguese", exceeding the expectations of the opposition and also the "projections of some institutions such as the Bank of Portugal, at least at the time when Mário Centeno was in charge".
"The economy grew well above the European average. It is growing more than most of the countries with which we have to compare ourselves. Investment grew, both public and private. And incomes continued to grow, both in pensions and wages, well above what was happening during the socialist government," he added.
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