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Portugal dismisses claims it needs new aid package

Xinhua, June 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Portugal's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday dismissed claims by Germany's finance minister regarding the country's need of a new aid program, pointing out that the country is focused on meeting its deficit targets.

"Taking into account the declarations made by the German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schauble, which were immediately corrected by himself, the ministry of finance clarifies that it is not considering any kind of new financial help, contrary to what the German governor initially said," the statement reads.

"During the current times Europe is going through, the government will continue to work serenely and with the responsibility that the European project requires," the statement adds.

Schauble on Wednesday was quoted by local media saying that Portugal would get another aid package. However the German official, later corrected his statement and said the country had to meet its targets if it wanted to avoid facing further problems.

Portugal signed a 78 billion euro(86.74 billion U.S. dollars) bailout in 2011, under which it was forced to apply harsh austerity to deal with the country's sluggish growth and heavy debt load.

The country has been under considerable pressure after missing its target in 2015 and has been asked to step up its deficit reduction targets for 2016. The Portuguese government has insisted it will meet the targets and predicts growth of 1.8 percent this year, as well as cutting the budget deficit to 2.2 percent. Enditem