This comes on the back of year-on-year Euro Zone inflation in August standing at 0.1 percent, with the European Union as a whole flat on 0.0 percent and Portugal up at 0.7 percent. Whilst September saw negative inflation rates in 17 European Union member states, Cyprus, Romania and Spain leading the way with falls of 1.9 percent, 1.5 percent and 1.1 percent, Portugal joined Belgium and Sweden in reporting inflation of 0.9 percent behind only Malta which stood at 1.6 percent.
The Eurostat figures came on the same day as Brussels told Lisbon to submit a provisional budget for 2016 without further delay.
This followed comments from acting Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho to journalists at a recent European Council meeting that it “would not make any sense” to provide such a document.
However, a European Commission spokesperson said that there were clear procedures in place for outgoing governments to submit a plan based on the policies and the budget in effect with the incoming government taking on responsibility for providing the complete and updated budgetary plan when in office.
“Given that the deadline has just expired, we expect to receive a budgetary plan from Portugal without further delay,” said the spokesperson.