LISBON, Portugal (AP) - A senior European Union official says EU authorities are poised to release Portugal from tight fiscal oversight and the threat of sanctions because the country’s financial health has improved.
EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis says that if statistics next month show Portugal’s budget deficit has continued to fall and that its economy has kept growing, the EU’s special surveillance of Portugal will end.
EU countries have to limit the amount they can borrow each year to 3 percent of their GDP. Portugal’s soared to more than 11 percent in 2010, forcing it to ask for a 78 billion-euro ($82.5 billion) bailout the following year.
The government says the deficit dropped last year to at least 2.1 percent, while economic growth is expected to have been 1.3 percent in 2016.
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