"I think it is very important for there to be acceptance from the European Commission of the Portuguese government's outlook for the coming years," he told journalists during a visit to a naval base in Almada, across the River Tagus from Lisbon. "It is based on that outlook that budgetary execution will be analysed year by year."

It is, he said in answer to journalists' questions on the subject, "very important what the European Commission's reaction is" to the government's economic forecasts and the contents of the Stability Programme.

"If that reaction is positive the climate is positive," the president said. "If it is less positive, that requires accommodations and negotiations but I am hopeful that it will be positive."

The government's projections for economic growth this year and next are seen by many independent observers as overly optimistic with consequent implications for tax revenue and so for the feasibility of its bringing the public sector budget deficit into line with euro-zone rules.