Portugal doesn’t need large scale debt-reduction deal – PMDecember 4, 2012 - 13:59 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Portugal does not need a large scale debt-reduction deal like Greece's because its efforts to return to the markets are on track and its situation is fundamentally different, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Tuesday, Dec 4. "We do not want to have a treatment and solution identical to Greece's. We are not asking for an equal deal," Passos Coelho said in televised remarks on while on a visit to Cape Verde, according to Reuters. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, told a Eurogroup meeting on Monday that giving eurozone bailout recipients Portugal and Ireland the same conditions as Greece "would be a disastrous sign". Portugal, under its 78-billion euro EU/IMF bailout program, will implement the largest tax increase in living memory next year as it seeks to regain investor confidence and return to the markets. The country is undergoing its worst recession since the 1970s. "I would shy away from the comparison with Greece if I were another member state in the eurozone, because Greece is a unique case," Schaeuble said. Passos Coelho said Portugal's return to the markets is being conducted gradually and this "is a reason for the Portuguese to be proud and hopeful". "Greece endured extremely difficult moments over a five-month negotiation which allowed for the disbursement of financial support. I do not wish for Portugal the same kind of negotiation," he said. Still, on Monday, ECB Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said Portugal should not drag out its adjustment process unnecessarily as at a certain point reform fatigue sets in and hinders confidence. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |