Press Release: European Commission adopts report on government finances in Portugal as a first step of the Excessive Deficit Procedure

The European Commission adopted a report on 24 September 2002 on the government finance situation in Portugal. This report constitutes the first step of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) provided for by Art. 104.3 of the Treaty. The Commission initiated the EDP for Portugal, after receiving official confirmation that the general government deficit in 2001 amounted to 4.1% of GDP, thereby clearly exceeding the reference value of 3% of GDP.