Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Finance Minister Mario Centeno are seen during a debate on the 2018 state budget at the parliament in Lisbon, Portugal November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
November 27, 2017
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s parliament on Monday approved in the final reading the minority Socialist government’s 2018 budget bill that aims to trim the deficit to a new low in the country’s democratic history thanks to continuing, if slower, economic growth.
The budget was approved by the Socialists and their far-left allies in parliament – the Communists and Left Bloc – who together hold 122 seats in the 230-seat house. The remaining lawmakers voted against the document that set the deficit at 1.1 percent of gross domestic product after this year’s projected 1.4 percent.
(Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge)
