Costa was speaking at the opening of the fortnightly debate in Portugal's parliament, which took place five days before the deadline for the government to submit the draft state budget.

The minority Socialist government, which is backed by the Left Bloc and Communist Party in parliament, has reversed several austerity measures enacted by the previous right-of-centre government.

In advance of the budget, the government has been projecting 2.3% growth in gross domestic product for Portugal next year and a public sector budget deficit equivalent to 0.2% of GDP. Public indebtedness at the end of next year is on track to fall to 118.4% of GDP, according to its Stability Programme, submitted to the European Commission in April.