Lisbon, April 9, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal’s prime minister has said his government would respond with “balance” to the Middle East war, avoiding measures “that solve nothing” and sacrificing budget results if necessary.
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro was speaking on Wednesday evening at the start of a meeting of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) national council, where he said he had “no obsession with budget surpluses.”
"If one day it is necessary to sacrifice this result so people suffer less impact and the economy can sustain negative impacts, we will take the respective measures," he said, adding that if Portugal had a small deficit, it would remain a "champion of financial stability in Europe."
The PM said the government would continue taking "appropriate, balanced and responsible measures" in the coming weeks as prospects for the US-Iran conflict change daily.
"This requires a sense of responsibility and opportunity, not falling into the temptation of rushing into solutions that seem to solve everything and then solve nothing," he said.
He said the government is prepared for either a "more negative" or "more positive" evolution of the war in the Middle East.
"My expectation is that the country, because it emerged stronger from the budget exercises of recent years, is now much better able to make the decisions required so that people feel the least possible impact from this crisis," he said.
Montenegro said the government is "very sensitive" to how international instability affects people and companies, noting the government approved a discount on the ISP (fuel tax) at the start of the Iran conflict.
"We stopped making money for the state with the VAT increase linked to fuel price rises before that increase had even taken effect," he said. "We made a decision that anticipated this possibility and were the first European country to do so."
The prime minister highlighted other measures “aimed at the most vulnerable consumers” in the energy and gas sectors and for those sectors of the economy most dependent on energy consumption, such as fuel, goods and passenger transporters, fire brigades and social institutions.
"We also have a credit line that will be finalised on Thursday for companies most exposed to energy consumption," he said, referring to a €600 million support line the government announced last week.
SMA/LYT // AYLS
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