Tabled by the Socialist government in October and approved with amendments by parliament last month, Rebelo de Sousa said that the document shows "a concern with financial rigour" that is "a national commitment".

In a short address to the nation, made at the presidential palace in Belém, Lisbon, the head of state said that he had followed the budget debates in parliament "attentively" and "analysed the version approved in the final overall vote" as well as the final version edited over the past few weeks.