LISBON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa welcomed European Commission's decision to close the country's excessive deficit procedure on Monday, saying it was proof that his anti-austerity approach was working.
"It is important that this is the last time we go through such a traumatic process," he said in a speech at the prime minister's official residence.
Costa was referring to the 78-billion-euro bailout program which Portugal signed in 2011 and which led to harsh spending cuts and tax hikes imposed by the previous administration.
"We did not recover competitiveness through collective impoverishment. The reforms that we are carrying out are different and call for continuity and persistence," he said, adding, "We cannot again lose what today we have accomplished."
The European Commission on Monday recommended that the Economic and Financial Affairs Council close Portugal's excessive deficit procedure, pointing out that Portugal managed to reduce its deficit to 2 percent of gross domestic product (DGP) in 2016, below the 3 percent threshold in the Stability and Growth Pact.
The European Commission has recently praised the country's fiscal consolidation efforts and economic recovery while pointing to a high debt level of over 130 percent of GDP.
