Analysis of the general government budget outturn in the first quarter of 2013

This publication analyses the budget outturn of both the general government and each of its subsectors during the first quarter of 2013. It does so on a national accounting perspective. With this issue, the Portuguese Public Finance Council (CFP) launches the regular publication of reports assessing quarterly budget outturns. This production line fulfils the statutory obligation of monitoring fiscal executions.

The year-round scrutiny of the fiscal developments and debt evolution of public administrations, on consolidated terms and by subsector, paves the way to assess compliance with fiscal rules in force, which is another task assigned to the CFP.

In this respect, it is particularly important to provide timely evaluations of the coherence between budget outturn and goals set for deficit and debt according to Maastricht definitions, which matter for the country’s assessment within the excessive deficit procedure (EDP). This is why the CFP monitoring focuses on the analysis of financial and non-financial data reported quarterly by the central bank and the national statistical authority to European statistical authorities on a national accounts basis, coherent with the EDP rules.

The outline of Report No. 5/2013 is as follows:

• Introduction
• Major fiscal developments
• Public debt evolution
• Appendixes

Date of last update: 17/07/2013