Portugal's Stormy Financial Path

Portugal is in a tough spot. The country is trying hard to keep its budget in check and reduce debt. But, storms have caused a lot of damage. This makes things more complicated. The finance minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, spoke about this. He said that helping people and businesses affected by the storms is a priority. He also said that the government will try to keep the budget balanced and reduce debt. The storms have caused a lot of damage. The government estimates that it will cost more than 4 billion euros to fix everything. They have already set aside 2. 5 billion euros in loans and incentives for reconstruction. Before the storms, the government was doing well. They had a budget surplus for four years in a row. This is rare among euro zone countries. But now, the surplus is expected to shrink.The government also expects the economy to grow by 2. 3% this year. This is a bit more than last year's growth of 1. 9%. However, the storms may slow this down. The public debt ratio is expected to drop to 87. 8% of GDP this year. This is an improvement from last year's 90%. But, the storms may make this goal harder to reach. The government is also dealing with 2. 5 billion euros in loans from the EU recovery funds. These loans are spending money, unlike last year when they only had grants. This makes the government's job even harder. In short, Portugal is facing some big challenges. The storms have made things more difficult. But, the government is trying to stay on track.