Lisbon, Sept. 17, 2026 (Lusa) - Prime Minister Luís Montenegro is due to make a statement on Thursday at 8.00 p.m. at the official residence in São Bento (Lisbon), a few hours after a cabinet meeting.
«The prime minister will make a statement at the Official Residence,» a note from the office of the head of the PSD/CDS-PP Government states.
Luís Montenegro announced last week, during the debate on Chega's motion of no confidence in the government, that the cabinet would approve a new one-off supplement this week for pensioners receiving up to €1,611, to be paid in December, and tax relief up to the sixth income tax bracket.
On that occasion, he estimated that these two measures would cost a total of €800 million.
At last week's cabinet meeting, held in Bragança, the government approved extending the ten-cent-per-litre subsidy for agricultural diesel until the end of the year, at an estimated cost of €15 million, as well as aid for the fisheries sector.
On that occasion, the prime minister also said the cabinet would make decisions at this week's meeting on other sectors, such as transport, taxis, voluntary fire brigades and Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS), to address the rise in fuel prices.
The prime minister has insisted that, in contrast to the claims of the Secretary-General of the PS, José Luís Carneiro, «the state is not making money at the expense of the crisis» caused by international conflicts, particularly that in the Middle East.
«All the discounts currently in place on the ISP [tax on petroleum products] will result in a tax reduction of around €1.3 billion by the end of the year; these are the figures from the Public Finance Council,» he stated last week during the debate on the motion of no confidence.
Today, at a European conference on the German economy in Lisbon, where he announced that Portugal is «on track for its fourth consecutive surplus», Montenegro said that the government was aware of «the challenges and the impact on families and businesses» due to rising fuel prices, «and, as a result, throughout the entire production chain».
On the same occasion, the prime minister referred to the «seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East» between the United States and Iran, describing it as a «foolish path» from a social and economic point of view.
«From an economic point of view, it is truly an unsustainable situation; it is even absurd, to put it mildly, that we are all being penalised and cannot turn the situation around,» he said.
«I'll say it straight out: from an economic and social point of view, it is a foolish course of action; it benefits no one, it harms us all, it has no rationale, it makes no sense,» he remarked.
Without making direct reference to US President Donald Trump, Montenegro added: «We can and must protect the world from terrorist threats and nuclear threats; we should always strive to support people and avoid unjustifiable hardship caused by factors beyond our control,» he said.
SMA/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
