"The Council of Ministers this Thursday the State Budget Proposal for 2018, its accompanying Report, the Major Options of the Plan and the Multi-Year Budgetary Programming Framework," said the statement sent to Lusa.

The OE2018 proposal approved by the Government will now be presented to parliament and a public presentation of the document by Minister of Finance Mário Centeno will follow.

A delegation of the socialist government on Wednesday announced the general outline of the document to the parliamentary parties in a marathon of meetings that ended with statements to journalists by the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Pedro Nuno Santos, who said that the OE2018 proposal forecasts one of the highest growth rates since 2000.

The final overall vote on the 2018 State Budget is scheduled for 28 November, following a month of debates.

The presentation of the document, in the parliament, by the Minister of Finance, Mário Centeno, is scheduled for 24 October, at the Budget and Finance Commission.

On 25 October the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Vieira da Silva, will present the budgetat the same commission.

After the general vote, with a debate scheduled for 2 and 3 November, the sectoral discussion, ministry by ministry, will be discussed by the respective committees.