If the budget deficit is 3% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Portugal will only know if it finally jets to leave the EDP when Eurostat discloses the first EDP notification regarding 2015, and that means the figure will have to be under 3%.


Apart from that, the European Commission (EC) also has to believe there is a margin to accommodate unforeseen events in 2016 and 2017.


In other words, for Portugal to leave the EDP, the excessive deficit correction must be lasting so as to ensure robust, sustainable public finances. The Portuguese government has said it expects the budget deficit to fall to 2.7% this year.