"A stronger-than-expected economic recovery and a degree of expenditure containment in the Government's response to the pandemic led to better budgetary results compared to the euro zone average", says the agency, recalling that the Portuguese budget deficit reached 2.8% of GDP in 2021, down from 5.8% in 2020, and significantly better than the government's target of 4.3% of GDP and lower than the average deficit in the eurozone.