פורטוגל צומחת יותר מגרמניה, צרפת וספרד

“It has been seven very intense years, since the threat of sanctions against Portugal, the need to stabilize the financial system, exiting the European Union's Excessive Deficit Procedure, facing natural disasters and a pandemic, now experiencing a war and a cycle of inflation not seen for 30 years. But it was seven years in which we presented results and left marks”, said the prime minister.

In terms of economic growth, António Costa defended the thesis that in the 15 years prior to 2015 the country grew by an average of 0.2%, while in the last seven “it grew by an average of 2%, that is, ten times more”.

After noting that the unemployment rate has fallen by less than half from 2015 to the present, he argued that Portugal has converged with the European Union average in all the years of its governments, except for 2020.

“Growing above average means getting closer to the most developed countries within the framework of the European Union and, according to the European Commission and international organizations, we will continue to grow above the European average in 2023 and in 2024. When we grow above the European average, we even get closer to the most developed countries, to the forefront”, he observed.

According to data presented by António Costa regarding GDP per capita, since 2015, Portugal's distance from France has decreased by 2.6 percentage points.

“Regarding Germany it decreased by 3.8 percentage points and compared to Spain it even decreased by 7.1 percentage points. Yes, we are growing more than Germany, France and Spain - and it is in relation to these countries that we are approaching”, he said.